


The Heart of the Huntsman

by Rioghna



Series: The Queen's Daughter [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Past Rape/Non-con, Recovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2018-10-13 11:19:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 21
Words: 29,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10512717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rioghna/pseuds/Rioghna
Summary: This is a story from The Queen's Daughter series.  Unilke the rest, it is very serious.  I don't know why I decided to go on with it, but it seemed that there was still to be written.





	1. Approach

The Heart of the Huntsman

It had been a week after the curse was broken before Graham went to talk to Rumplestiltskin. It wasn't that he was avoiding it, or so he told himself, but legitimately things had been very busy. Prince David and Princess Snow White had taken charge, forming a council of the ranking royals in Storybrooke, even (reluctantly) including King George, who had remained on the sidelines when just about everyone else had sided against Regina.

Rumplestiltskin was also included, though he didn't particularly want to be. Not that everyone trusted him, most didn't, but since he had been instrumental in breaking the curse and was, currently (also reluctantly) acting as de facto guardian for the princess while she tried to balance her two very different families, Snow White and Charming had insisted.  Besides, he was the only one who knew anything about the aftermath, and magic. Still, the sheriff was grateful to him. When the prince and princess were setting up a schedule to keep watch on Regina, it was the sorcerer who had stepped in.

' _The sheriff has his other duties to attend to still. In addition to everything else, there are more than a few personal feuds that need watching. Leave him to get on with it.' Everyone could see the sense in his advice._

He was also grateful that he had not been forced to explain to anyone his reluctance to deal with Regina. Not that just about everyone in town did not know about his 'relationship' with the former mayor of Storybrooke, but everyone assumed that, like some of her other 'pairings', it was just part of the curse. Even the prince, who knew that the queen had his heart, did not understand exactly what that meant.

The only people who truly knew were Rumplestiltskin, who showed no sign of explaining or telling anyone, for which Graham was also grateful, and the princess. He sincerely hoped she did _not_ understand. He genuinely cared for Cora, or Emma, the girl was still deciding, and he didn't want her to know. Graham didn't think he could face her if she understood what he and her adopted mother had done. He only hoped that by the time she was old enough, she had forgotten. The Huntsman devoutly wished he could forget, or at least forgive himself.

Walking into the pawnshop was one of the hardest things Graham had ever done, harder even than coming to the sorcerer in the first place. He looked around, not wanting to see anyone else. One thing everyone knew, deals with Rumplestitlskin were always completely confidential. Still, as he dragged himself to the door, he peered through the glass. The shop at least appeared to be empty.

The sheriff opened the door carefully, listening as the bell announced him. A moment later, Belle came from the back room. She looked a little flustered, and he hoped he had not interrupted anything that would put the mercurial sorcerer in a bad mood.

"Sheriff," She greeted him with a smile and a moment later the tap of the cane announced the man he'd come to see.

"Huntsman," Rumplestiltkins said. The old imp was treating him with a polite formality that he appreciated, especially now.

"Belle, could you go and make us some tea." 

"Rumple?" she asked. It was odd for him to send her away.

"It's fine sweetheart. But the sheriff needs a few moments of my time." Rumplestiltskin had been waiting for this. It was not going to be easy on the young man, and he didn't blame him for wanting to take some time to think, or perhaps not to think, about it. Besides, things had been so very busy for all of them.

Of course, the man could have had better timing.  He and Belle had been taking advantage  of the quiet afternoon to attend some personal matters of their own. Despite their love and devotion for one another, and Belle's vehement assurance (which she backed up with her actions every chance they got), Rumplestiltskin was cautious about taking their relationship further, especially with young Emma in the house. He had even suggested that Belle move back into the guest room, 'to preserve propriety', but that was further than she was willing to go.

_'She is ten, Rumple, not five, she's aware of the facts of life.' None of his arguments made a dint and, while it was still difficult to have her in his arms, he acknowledged that it would be impossible without her._

Now, the Huntsman had finally come. The sorcerer knew why he'd come. He understood how difficult a decision the young man faced. To get his heart back was to be safe from the control of another, while it would also give him a chance, a proper life, not the half life he had been living, to feel again. On the other hand, it would mean having to face completely what Graham had done, and what had been done to him.

"Since I am going to hazard a guess that you are not here to buy..." The Sheriff nodded.  "I thought not, I wondered when you would come," he said.

"It's...it's been a very busy week, so many things that...". He stopped as the sorcerer raised a hand.

"It is not an easy thing, the choice facing you, but regardless, it is time that you reclaim your property. One way or another."

Graham nodded. "Step into the back,' he said, gesturing through the curtain.

"Would you like some tea, Sheriff?" Belle asked.

"I..I'm sorry, Lady Belle, before, I wish..." He had been waiting for an opportunity to apologise to the young woman he had not been able to save.

"There is no need to apologise. I understand. Besides, you gave me one thing, you were a friend when I needed one," she told him. "Now, tea?"

Graham nodded, grateful. He had done some horrible things under Regina's control. Her acceptance was not what he expected, but he appreciated it. As Belle handed him his cup, Rumplestiltskin settled on his stool, offering the young man a seat on the bed that he'd woken up on not too long ago.

"Belle, would you?"

"She can stay," the huntsman said. While he appreciated the offer of privacy, Belle was different, and he'd noticed that the imp was different with her.

"Very well," Rumplestiltskin said. "Now, what have you decided? Your heart is safe enough where it is, but it should probably be returned to your keeping, one way or another. It should not be..."

"His heart?" Belle asked. "You mean it's _here_?" She looked around, a little green.

"Yes, It was what I...retrieved from Regina's vault. It was how the princess managed to complete his awakening. But not to worry, it is safe, and it will be finished soon. A hatbox on the shelf is no place for anyone's heart.  So..."

"What will happen if... if you put it back?" Graham asked.

"In the long term? You will begin to feel properly again. In the short term...I can't say for certain. I will tell you that there is very little chance that..." He stopped and looked at Belle, wondering what and how much to say. "You were a man of the forest, you were also a loner, not comfortable with the world of men. I would not expect it to be easy, or pleasant."

Graham nodded. He was glad that Rumplestiltskin had given him an honest answer, even if it was not terribly comforting. "I'm afraid."

"You should be. But the choice must be made. It will not get easier."

 

 

In the end, it was decided to wait two more days. "I will have some time off. The prince insists. I suppose I can come here after..."

"No, no, dearie, not here in the shop. As I said, I don't know what will happen. Can't have you cluttering up the place," Rumplestitlskin told him with the slightest humour.

"Where then?"

Rumplestiltskin thought about it for a moment. "The cabin. I have a cabin outside of town. It's isolated, few people know it exists and it's out in the forest, you have always been good with the forest." A few moments later, with instructions given, the sheriff left the shop.

"And now?" Belle asked.

"There are preparations to make."


	2. Heart

The next two days were probably simultaneously the longest and the shortest of Graham's life. He tried to bury himself in work and not think about what was coming. Fortunately there was plenty of that to go around as people tried to figure out how to adapt to this new reality. But when he wasn't working, he had nothing to do but think and worry. He'd given some serious consideration to drink, but he'd never been much of a drinker, the odd beer at Granny's, mead or beer in the old world, but nothing stronger. _After this, I might consider taking it up_ , he thought to himself. The worst part was the not knowing, not even the sorcerer could say for certain what would happen. Still, he'd not tried to pretend, or brush aside his concerns. At a certain level he understood that he wasn't feeling properly, but after so long under Regina's control, he could no longer remember what it _was_ to feel.

Still, the day arrived. Graham had thrown a few things in a bag at Rumplestiltskin's suggestion. "Better safe..." the old imp had said. However, he'd been surprised when he left his apartment to find Dove in the truck he used when working.

"Boss says pick you up," was all the man said. The sheriff got in. He thought he ought to say something or at least with anyone else he would have, but that was the thing about Dove, he wasn't one to talk unnecessarily. Actually he wasn't one to talk. The other reason Rumplestiltskin had sent him, Graham was sure, was that he would do exactly what he was asked without a word or a question.

The drive to the cabin was done in complete silence, while Graham watched the town pass by, wondering what it would look like to him on the way back. How would the world feel when he could truly feel again? In less time than he was expecting the truck pulled up to a cabin. The sorcerer had been right, the peace, the forest, already he felt like he could breathe more easily. Perhaps it would not be so bad. The truck stopped. There was a car there already, Gold's black Cadillac. No surprise there, the man would want to be prepared.

Graham got out of the vehicle and walked to the door. He didn't know whether to knock or not, but before he could decide, the door was opened. The first impression he had was shock. Gold was in his shirt sleeves, and was not wearing a tie.

"Well, come in, dearie," he said, waving the man past him.

"Dove?"

"He will be fine where he is. I thought you would prefer the privacy."

"Thank you," Graham said softly, though the words seemed somehow inadequate.

"Don't. You may very well hate me before this is over, or afterward. But you helped us break the curse, and you were kind to my Belle when she was the Queen's prisoner, for that alone I would owe you a debt. Never let it be said that Rumplestiltskin allowed the books to go unbalanced, though it may be a piss poor trade. Come along."

Inside, the cabin was dimly lit and furnished comfortably, if a bit rustic for what he knew of the man. but then what did he really know? What did any of them know? Differences between cursed memories, and real ones, lives, some were extreme, while some were very near. "Where?" Graham asked.

"Anywhere is as good as any other place. I would suggest that nearer the couch is probably prudent though, if ye have as strong a reaction as you did to the first part, I'd not like to have to drag you far." The sheriff nodded, and moved to where Rumplestiltskin indicated.

"That was what happened before, wasn't it? It was something to do with my heart? That's how you freed me, isn't it?"

"Not me, Huntsman. It appears that our dear saviour truly cares for you. Once she began to believe, the process was begun. So, with her help, we found the location of Regina's vault and 'liberated' your heart.  Actually it also gave me a chance to see what else she had. As you know, there were several other rather dangerous objects that it's probably best Regina not have access to that have been put away safely. It was the only way. Once you'd begun to remember, you were a danger to Regina because you might inadvertently trigger someone else's memory. On the other hand, knowing you were waking up would have alerted her to the fact that the curse was weakening and put all our plans in danger," the sorcerer explained. "It wouldn't have done for her to realise what we were up to, though she had suspected me for some time. I'm not entirely sure how much she ever truly believed the curse had a hold on me." As the sorcerer explained, he was taking a glass vial out of a bag sitting on the table next to an actual hat box. Graham admitted to himself that part of him had thought Rumplestiltskin was joking about the hat box. Following his gaze, the sorcerer shrugged. "It was what I had handy. Now..."

"What if Regina gets free? She will..."

"She will find a heart right where she left it. Of course, I suspect that she will be too busy trying to figure out what all is missing to worry much about it, not at first."

"But the heart..." Graham didn't want anyone else to suffer for him if she tried to resume control, or to destroy it either.

"The person it belonged to no longer needs it. He was already dead. I had it for some, well, never you mind what I was doing with a spare heart, dearie. Let's get on with this, I don't have all day." Graham nodded. It was always best not to pry into the sorcerer's secrets. Rumplestitlskin  had opened the vial and was holding it up, just a bit of the showman evident. "Now this is a little invention of my own. It will make it impossible for anyone to ever take your heart again, even if magic is properly restored to this land. Just in case. We wouldn't want to have to go through this a second time, now would we?" He opened the hat box and poured the contents of the vial over the heart. It was disconcerting seeing his heart laying in the box, not to mention being able to feel the..he wasn't sure what the feeling was, exactly as the potion seemed to sink into the surface.  Seeing it reminded him of the last time, when Regina had taken it out of his chest and he'd watched her holding it in her hand, the feeling of his body no longer responding to his own commands. "Now, magic in Storybrooke is still weak, but the objects retain their's. Now that the curse is broken, they have at least a little more strength. It's why Regina and I, probably the fairies as well, managed to prepare when we knew she was going to cast the curse. Your heart _wants_ to be where it belongs, it's the innate magic in it..."

Graham knew what the man was doing, distracting him. "All right, we are ready, or as ready as you are like to get. I don't have to warn you that this is going to be...disquieting. Might best close your eyes for this bit," Rumplestiltskin suggested as he picked it up.

Graham slammed his eyes shut. He had no other choice but to watch the first time, and he'd not known what she was going to do, but he wasn't ready to do it again, even if this was the right way around. He felt a sort of hot/cold tingle and the sensation of something moving inside him that he tried not to think about too closely. Then...for a moment everything was fine. "I think..." he began cautiously, opening his eyes. "I think it's..." Then the world fell in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this took me a little longer to get up. It's not easy writing and this is actually some of the easiest bits. However, I had a bit of a family issue that held me up. Please, if you are reading this and enjoying it, let me know. It is going to get a bit rougher though. If you aren't up to it, I will understand, but you might want to stop here.


	3. As the world falls down

Everything seemed to come on him at once, as if some damn burst and all of his pent up emotions came flooding back, along with memories, things that he'd tried to forget. Shame, fear, anger and dread, watching his body do...things while inside he struggled against them. A million feelings with images, smells, tastes, Belle's kindness, and his inability to help her, David, the adrenaline of the fight, and the various ways that Regina had of taking out his small disobediences. Regina, it all came back to Regina, the first time she had ordered him... He couldn't, it was all too much. His head was swimming.

"Easy, lad," Rumplestiltskin said, grabbing his arm.

"Don't touch me," Graham cried, jerking away without thinking, almost over balancing himself. He looked at the old sorcerer. He wanted to apologise, but he was afraid to open his mouth, least he failed to keep the contents of his stomach again. He felt...dirty.

"All right?" the man said. Keeping their eyes locked, the older man reached out and allowed Graham to take his arm for balance as he guided him down onto the couch.

 _At least I didn't lose consciousness this time_ , he thought. _Or my lunch_. It was a small enough feat, considering. Rumplestitlskin stepped away and left him sitting for a moment, before returning with a glass of amber liquid.

"Get that inside you," he said, not unkindly. Graham lifted the glass a took a large drink. The liquid burned its way down his throat and brought tears to his eyes.

"Strong," he said when he found his voice.

"Aye, but it'll do you some good. "

"Why," the sheriff asked him.

"Let us say, I know something about regret and things done when you are not in control of yourself. Not the same, but..." Graham finished the whiskey. "Now..."

"Where do I go from here?" Graham asked. He wasn't sure why he was asking. Having a heart to heart with the Dark One, possibly the darkest, certainly the strongest, sorcerer in this or any other realm, was not something he could have ever imagined. At the moment though, he had no idea what to do. Part of him wanted to hide, never to see anyone ever again. The other part, the part that had spent over a decade under someone else's control, needed something, some direction.

"What do you _want_ to do? Right at this moment, you are again completely in control of yourself, and you're terrified. You don't know what to do. Unfortunately, I can't tell you, I won't. It'll not be that easy. I will offer some advice though." The sheriff nodded. "You've two days before anyone will be needing you. Ye can stay. No one will bother you here in the woods, give you time to think. But regardless of what else you do, make no decisions that can't be undone. Not now. You've yer heart back, don't let it overrule your head, or your good sense."

"I...I'll try," was all Graham could say. There was a lot of sense in what the man said, but he just didn't know.

"It'll have to do. Keys are on the kitchen counter, and Belle's sent food, it's in there as well." Then the sorcerer rose and tapped his way to the door.

"Rumplestiltskin," he called. "Thank you."

With the sorcerer and, presumably Dove as well, gone, Graham suddenly didn't know how to start. His first response, a long shower, he knew, intellectually, was a normal reaction. The problem, or possibly the benefit, of being sheriff, of the background that Regina had given him, meant that he knew exactly what was happening to him. He'd known since they had woken him up. It didn't make it any easier, no matter how hard he tried. The words were there, but he couldn't bring himself to even think them, to consider himself...

 _You are a victim, denying it won't make it go away_ , a little voice whispered in the back of his head. _It's not your fault, and you know it_. Knowing that, and knowing his reaction was to be expected, didn't help either. Rather than think, he rose from the couch and decided to look around, anything was better than thinking.

The cabin was not big, but it was nice. Never let it be said that Rumplestiltskin, or more specifically, Mr. Gold, who was the one who presumably furnished the place, stinted on comfort. The bedroom was plain, but the bed looked comfortable enough. Suddenly, a memory. _Regina, lounging back on a bed. 'Come here, you know what I want." The smile_. He threw the bag down and ran.

He wasn't sure where he was running to or what he was running from. It wasn't as if he could run from his own memories or feelings. When he finally stopped, Graham was breathing hard, sweat and tears running down his face. He threw himself down under a tree, cried, screamed, and tried more than anything to stop thinking, but of course he couldn't.

Finally, hoarse, raw and filthy, not to mention exhausted, he made his way back to the cabin. _Good thing we're in the middle of nowhere_ , he thought when he got back. The cabin door was standing wide open. Graham dragged himself back in and went straight for the bathroom. It was large, and furnished with a walk in shower, no surprise for a man with a cane. Trying to focus on practicalities, he stripped off and when into the shower.

' _Well, let's see what I've got here. Take it off. I'm sure it's not the first time you've undressed in front of a woman_.' Humiliation, shame, embarrassment, and rage all warred inside of him as he fought his way through the memory, wondering if this was what it was going to be like for the rest of his life.

When he came to himself again, he was curled up on the floor in the corner of the shower, as the water, long gone cold, poured down on him. Graham shivered as he stood, though whether it was from the cold water or something else, he didn't bother to speculate. He was too tired.

After scrubbing himself ruthlessly and rinsing, ignoring the cold water, he got out of the shower. He avoided looking in the mirror. He couldn't look at himself, not now, at least not yet. Instead, he grabbed clean clothes from his bag and dressed, buttoning the heavy shirt all the way up to the collar. Graham told himself it was the cold, but part of him knew better.  Though what it was he trying to protect himself from now...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those of you that are reading. I am trying to do this justice and still do it with dignity. Still, if you have trouble, now is the time to stop reading. Really. Please, you know what to do...


	4. Picking up pieces

"How is Graham?" Belle asked as Rumplestiltskin came in the back door of the salmon pink Victorian.

"It's too soon to tell," he said honestly. He'd said nothing to Belle about the situation, but his love was brilliant, and in a town with as much gossip as Storybrooke, it wasn't hard for her to put together the pieces. "But he is strong. I don't _think_ he will do anything rash. It will take time." She nodded and moved into his arms for a kiss.  Of all the things that had happened since the breaking of the curse, the simple pleasure of having Belle in his home was the one that brought him the most contentment. It wasn't perfect. Rumplestiltskin still wasn't certain that he shouldn't send her away, but every time he started, Belle stopped him. His True Love had all the faith in him that he lacked, and was at least as stubborn.

Then there was the other factor. If he could have imagined his life after the curse, even after getting his Belle back, he could not have foreseen that they would be flung straight into being temporary parents. Being the guardians of the ten year old Saviour while she tried to get to know her real parents and make peace with the woman who had both kidnapped and then raised her, was definitely a wrinkle. Truthfully, he didn't mind. He liked the girl, though he would never admit it, and Belle's only response, to comment that it gave her a chance to get used to having a child in the house for when he found Bae, had gladdened his shrivelled heart more than perhaps it should've done, and led to other thoughts, like other children, somewhere he definitely shouldn't be thinking. "Where _is_ our uninvited house guest?" Rumplestiltskin asked, looking at his watch. The girl had not come into the kitchen since he arrived, though she could still be at Regina's.  True to her word, she visited her everyday, trying to rehabilitate her adopted mother.

"What have I told you about that? You are going to make her feel unwanted. But she's not here anyway," Belle said. She was pottering around the kitchen, presumably preparing dinner. he had tried to convince her that she didn't need to continue to take care of him, but it had been ineffective. While she accepted that he had a housekeeper, especially as she was still going into the shop with him, ('wouldn't want to put her out of a job, would you, dearie?') she insisted on cooking.

"Where is she?" he asked, trying not to act concerned. If Belle was all right with wherever the girl was, it must be all right. "And what is she calling herself today?" In addition to trying to figure out everything else, the little girl was still deciding on what she wanted to be called.

"She is still trying out Emma.  Of course, half the town can't get used to it. When she came to the shop, she was saying that she wished that either of them had bothered to give her a name that worked together, like Mary Margaret." Belle set his tea cup down in front of him. She knew him better than anyone, and she knew he was trying to distract himself from Graham's situation. Leave it to her to already have that well in hand. "As for the other part, she is going straight from Regina's to sleep over at her parent's tonight. David volunteered to handle patrolling so that Graham could have those days off that he needs since he has been so busy. I wonder who suggested he was working too hard?" Of course, she wasn't expecting an answer. "Mary Margaret is trying to use it for a little mother/daughter time. It's not been easy on any of them."

"Nor the rest of us, getting us involved in royal domestic arrangements, terribly inconsiderate," Rumplestitlskin said, trying to be his old, antisocial self. "Don't they know about annoying monsters?"

"You are no monster," Belle said, smiling. "Besides, you have missed the obvious positive side." She slipped around the counter and put an arm around him. "She is gone for the night. You and I have the house to ourselves."

Suddenly the sorcerer was feeling much more positively towards everyone. He might even forgive them, provided they did not have cause to interrupt them. While Belle had been extremely clear about where _she_  wanted their relationship to go, Rumplestitlskin was an old fashioned sort of monster. He wanted to give her time to be certain. He also didn't feel right about letting their relationship go any further with a child, especially a child that wasn't his, under the same roof. This was a different world, and people could be together and not be married, but he was still getting used to the idea. Ten years in this world was not going to wipe away three hundred years in their own. However, Belle had not only not changed her mind, but her insistence on sleeping in his bed with him, and her very tactile nature were taking their toll. His willpower was taking a horrible battering. A night alone with Belle, regardless of what or how far things, went seemed the ideal antidote to the day, and guaranteed to keep him from worrying about the sheriff or anything else. _Not that I care_ , he told himself. _But a new sheriff would be difficult to find_.

 

"Mom, can I ask you something?" Emma/Cora said quietly. She was sitting in the kitchen of the house she had grown up in, with her adopted mother, the way she had been every afternoon after school since the curse had broken. She'd promised, and besides, she really did love Regina, just not the dark parts, and she was trying really hard to help her. It would be easier if she knew how though. In addition, tonight, instead of going back to the big pink house with Belle, or Rumplestiltskin (or both), Mary Margaret was going to pick her up to stay the night, and she wasn't sure how to feel about that, but for now, she had questions. Rumplestiltskin thought she didn't know what he was going to do today with Graham, but she heard him and Belle talking about it when she came down for breakfast this morning, and it raised some things.

"What do you want to know?" Regina was almost certain she would want to know something about her new found mother, or about the Enchanted Forest. Those were the usual questions, though she'd been very careful about what she told her daughter. There were things that she didn't want to tell her at all, but she was trying to tell Cora the truth. Since she was currently stuck on house arrest, Regina had very little to do but bake, tend her apple tree, and consider what to say to the daughter she raised.

When she had started, it was all about revenge, but somewhere along the line, she had genuinely started to care for, and then love the little girl. It didn't make the situation easier. When Cora had broken the curse after that little outburst with Rumplestiltskin, Regina thought she had lost her for good. Once again, she felt like Snow White had ruined her life, and the thought of revenge had been first and foremost in her mind. But then Cora had surprised them all, first by refusing to abandon her completely, and move in with her birth parents, and then by keeping her promise. That she was living with Rumplestitlskin and his former maid had bothered Regina. She'd been convinced that they would turn the little girl against her. But apparently to her surprise, they had not. In fact, the sorcerer and his lady had been good to Cora.

"You and the sheriff..." Cora started slowly.

"Cora..." That was the _not_ the conversation she wanted to have with her daughter, ever. If she was honest with herself, she didn't want to think too much about it. Or about how much she had become like her mother before Cora came along.

"Do you like him?" Regina was startled. "I mean, like, like. Because if you did, wouldn't it have been better to just ask him out, instead of writing him in as your secret boyfriend into the curse.  That wasn't right, and you need to apologise to him."

Regina was in shock. _At least she doesn't understand what you really did_ , a voice whispered, a voice that sounded remarkably, infuriatingly, like her old mentor. She had been really good about avoiding thinking too closely about what she had been doing, at least until recently, changes brought about because of Cora. but now she needed something to say to her daughter. "I don't think it's something we need to talk about. I... I will figure out something, I will find a way to deal with Graham when things are more settled," she said. It was a really vague agreement, and they both knew it.

"All right," Cora said, reluctantly, but she didn't appear happy.

Regina realised that she had managed to say the wrong thing, but she needed time. So far, she had been trying very hard to do what her daughter wanted, alternating between wanting to do everything to get Cora back, even if she had to share with...her step daughter, and wanting to escape and find a new plan, one that would put her world back together. Now she knew that she needed to make her move soon. The only way to make things better was going to be to find a way to make sure Cora didn't know what she had done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is a little bit lighter, but only a little, and deals with some of the other issues surrounding the breaking of the curse, including what Cora knows. Enjoy and please leave a comment in the little box.


	5. What would you do?

It had been easier than Regina expected to sneak out, which gave her hope that it would be equally as easy to sneak back in. She wasn't trying to escape, not really, but the more she thought about what Cora had asked, the more uncomfortable and restless she had become, and the more that she knew she needed a solution. Magic had always provided what she needed before, there had to be something for this.

If she was honest with herself, she knew Cora was right, more right than she knew. Regina had spent a long time justifying (or rather failing to justify, internal reflection was something that she avoided), her actions as within her rights. No one had thought twice when her mother had all but sold her off to King Leopold, not that he had been bad, or particularly demanding, but she principle was the same.

 _Not the same, you could say no, and he would accept it. He never ordered you_... the voice whispered in her ear.

 _It doesn't matter, I didn't ask for it, I didn't_..

 _You didn't want to become your mother either_ , the voice returned. But no matter how hard she tried, she could no longer even convince herself that what she did was all right. And, regardless of what her daughter thought, an apology was never going to be enough, not by a long shot. Of course, there was the other question, did she even want to try? Granted, Cora would want her to, but really, if she could somehow make it up to him, did she want to? Originally Regina had taken his heart to punish him for defying her. The rest had just been a pleasant diversion, a side effect to keep her from being...

 _Alone_ , the voice responded. _You didn't want to be alone. He was young and handsome, and more importantly, safe. He wouldn't hurt you, he couldn't, because he had no will of his own. Is that the kind of safety you really want? Have you really become so much like your mother?_

 _I'm not like her, I would never_ , but the more she thought about it, the more Regina knew she was completely and utterly wrong.

The cemetery at night was not exactly the most pleasant place, and certainly not now, as the temperature had dropped, and the wind was picking up. Regina hurried across the grass as fast as her not terribly practical shoes would take her. There had to be something in her vault to help. Just this one thing, she would just fix this, she promised herself, and then she would settle down and do whatever it took to keep her daughter, even if it meant giving up revenge.

 

Rumplestiltskin was enjoying his evening. With just he and Belle alone in the house, they had started with a romantic dinner. Then he had spend the rest of his time making a start on the lengthy list of things he wanted to do with his Belle, and a few that came up on the spot. For her part, Belle had not only been encouraging, but a very active participant, to the point that he had come to the conclusion that that they should remove themselves to the bedroom so that he could continue.

It was all well and good to know that the child was gone for the night, but in addition to wanting to do things properly for Belle, he wanted to be on the other side of a door, one with a lock that Emma did not have a key for. "Belle," he groaned as he pulled away just enough to whisper against her ear. 'This...think that we should..."

"Upstairs?" she anticipated.

"Aye, upstairs," he said, extracting himself with some reluctance.

 

Regina went down into her vault, ignoring the shadows and the echoing of her heels on the stone steps. After all, no one would be down there but her. It took a moment to get the place lit. It was chilly down in the vault, but there was nothing new in that. After a moment standing there in the dim light, enjoying the reassurance of being surrounded by her magic, she took a deep breath and began looking through the first of her books that came to hand. It was going to have to be carefully done, Regina knew that. She didn't have a lot of magic to burn. That would need to be her next step, assessing what she had and what she was willing to burn for this very important cause. Actually, there was very little she wouldn't be willing to burn for this, she realised. Her daughter was that important to her.

It was only when she started to gather things together that she noticed that something was wrong. At first, Regina thought she must have put things away sloppily when she had come down here the last time. After all, she had been more than a little distracted at the time, having just learned that not only had she lost her leverage against Rumplestiltskin, but the damned imp had found it. She'd also been more than a little concerned about what he was planning to do to her. That worry had not gone away yet, she was still wondering. Breaking the curse was not nearly painful or personal enough to pay back what she had done to him, and she was still waiting for the other shoe to fall. Rumplestiltskin might be playing at being on the side of the light, joining with Snow White and her sickening prince, at the moment, no doubt trying to please that revoltingly sweet maid of his, but he would be back to his old form soon enough, and then she knew she was in real danger.

But that was not her current problem. Right now, there were things that seemed just slightly out of place, as if someone had gone through them and not put them back correctly. It wasn't possible, nothing could be missing, no one in town could get into her vault besides her. She went to where she kept her hearts. They were all there, she could feel them. She must just be more distracted than she thought.

Looking at the heart though, Regina realised that there was another option. If she didn't want graham to say anything... She allowed her hand to hover over the box where she kept his heart. Could she do it? And if she did, what would happen? Would Cora blame her for his death? How much had Rumplestiltskin told her? No matter what, it would be suspicious, even with her on house arrest. Then there was Graham himself...

"Well dearie, I suppose we now know exactly how long your good intentions last."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am glad people are...I'm not sure enjoying is the right word for this, but please, tell me what you think. Leave a comment in the little box.


	6. Caught out

"You? How? What are you _doing_ here?" Regina gasped.

"Which question would you like me to answer first? Really, Regina, I taught you that trick.  Did you think I wouldn't know how to counter it? As to the other....I could ask the same of you," he said darkly, coming down the stairs towards her. "Your timing is abominable. I admit I was expecting a double cross, but I really thought you would last a _little_ longer. The princess is going to be heartbroken, of course."

"You can't, you wouldn't...Is that it, your revenge? Let me think I can salvage things with Cora, only to pull the rug from under me," she accused. That she had screwed up and got caught, she knew. The question was, what could she do? The only thing near to hand were her hearts, and there was really nothing she could do but throw one at him.

"I'm not the one creeping around late at night looking for magic, and for what, pray tell? Do you think any of this can change things, put the curse back in place?" he asked, gesturing to the things in her vault. "Or were you looking for something to bring Emma back to you? You can't force love, Regina."

"As if I would take advice from _you_ ," she spat. "You hate me." She looked around frantically, to find something she could work with.

"Well, I'll admit I'm not at all charitably disposed to you at this moment. I was enjoying a pleasant evening alone with Belle." He smiled in a way that unfortunately gave her a good idea what it was she had interrupted, a thought which made her slightly queasy.

"Ugh, I hope you aren't exposing my daughter to your..."

"The girl is away for the night, as you know, and I'm not the one who was carrying on an...well, whatever you cared to call it, with her under the same roof." The barb hit the mark and they both knew it. "But that's all irrelevant. No, I don't hate you, though I admit to owing you rather heavily for Belle. Still, I've no desire to ruin your relationship with your daughter. You seem to be more than capable enough, determined even, to do it yourself without any help. Now, care to tell me what you thought you were doing, or shall I just call Charming?" The old sorcerer made no move to come any closer to her, instead he just stood, watching.

"You wouldn't, you...". But a look at him told her that she wouldn't get anywhere. Regina gave a resigned sigh. She had no choice, at this moment, everything rested on the imp's good will, and she knew that she didn't have a lot of that to call on, in fact, she was at a deficit. "It's Cora," she said. He gestured for her to continue. "She was...she said that I needed to, she wants me to fix things with Graham. She doesn't understand."

"She knows what you've done, but fortunately for you, she doesn't understand what it means," he clarified. "So what is your solution? Memory potion? Or were you just planning on ridding yourself of him?"

"I don't...I'm not sure," Regina admitted. "I can't lose her, not that it matters, you..."

"Regina, I am a lot of things, and most of them are unpleasant. But I do have a few lines I'll not cross. Besides, I've lost a child. I'd not wish it on anyone. Do not let that convince you that we are finished, but not this way. Now, as to your little problem," he said, picking up a random bottle from the top of the case near him. "Not everything can be solved by magic, and nothing will ever make what you did to the sheriff right."

"Tell me you haven't..."

"I've never forced myself on anyone, with or without magic," he snapped disapprovingly. "I'm not _that_ kind of monster."

"I didn't..." But one look and she knew it wasn't going to work. If she couldn't make herself believe it, there was no way Regina could convince him of it.

"Good, now we are getting somewhere. Fortunately for you, he'll not be interested in anyone else knowing either. While it was not exactly a crime in our world, and ignoring the ethical considerations..."

" _You_ want to lecture _me_ on **_ethics_**?" Regina interrupted incredulously, but his look silenced her. She was still very much at his mercy right now.

"It is a crime here," he continued as if she hadn't spoken, taking another step towards her and setting the bottle down. "But the sheriff is far too ashamed to have you arrested, even ignoring the awkwardness there. He doesn't want anyone else to know. Fortunately for him, and you for that matter, most of the town doesn't know enough about how it works, or they haven't thought about it, and probably won't. I can't imagine you'd want to be the subject of that kind of scrutiny. So, it's only Emma, and her too young to understand what it means for now, which is good for you."

'She wants me to apologise, I don't even know how," Regina admitted reluctantly, turning to keep an eye on the imp. She was still torn, vacillating between trying to convince herself it wasn't that bad, and the creeping suspicion that it was worse than she thought.

"Can't do any harm, I suppose," Rumplestiltskin commented, just a little amused at the simplicity of the child's solution. "But that'll have to wait 'til he can bear the sight of ye."

"Why would he..."

"Do you truly _not_ understand? It would no different than if he'd forced himself on you. Just because you could make him respond, doesn't mean that he wanted ye. If I'd enough magic at the moment, I'd be tempted to put together a little something to have you relive it from his perspective, just so you could completely understand," the old sorcerer remarked, giving her a dark look as he shifted the cane just a little.  The thought made Regina go pale, as the truth of what she'd done started to set in.  Still, she couldn't let him know. "Still, for now, were I you, I would settle for staying far away from him. Not that it's a problem, since he has no desire to be near you either, and pray that your daughter forgets what you've done before she understands it."

"What the hell do you think I was looking for," Regina snapped. She'd had about enough of having her sins laid bare by Rumplestiltskin of all people. It didn't help that he was right. He was usually right, which made him all the more annoying. "I was hoping to find something to make her forget."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Rumplestiltskin said, a little sadly. "Magic can't fix everything, it certainly can't fix this. Leave it, Regina. If there is any redemption for you, it's in trying to work things out with your daughter without magic.  Try to think about how much you resented your mother for trying to control you. Now, we should get you out of here and back into your confinement before someone notices you are missing. I have much better things to do tonight than spend time with you." He gestured for her to proceed him, and she had no choice but to comply.

Her former mentor walked her back to where she could slip back into her house without being caught. It was clear they did not realise she was missing. "Why are you doing this?" Regina asked.

"My reasons are my own," he said. She just nodded and started to leave, but he called to her. "Regina, don't try it again. I'll not turn you in, but I will see that this little security hole is fixed. However, don't think that just because I'm not exposing your little slip, that I've forgotten your debt. Just not ready to collect yet." Then he was gone.

The Evil Queen slipped back into the house, and went up to bed. She knew it had been a near miss, and exactly how fortunate she had been. Or perhaps not so fortunate. Rumplestiltskin made absolutely sure she couldn't manage to continue try to justify or hide what she'd done to Graham from herself. And now, she had nothing to do but think about it. It was going to be a very long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, when I started to write this, or more specifically when I was working on the other one, and discovered I wasn't going to be able to leave this subject alone, someone asked me if I was planning to try to find a way for Regina and Graham to actually have a real relationship, and the answer was no. But in the course of writing, and thinking about what redemption looked like for Regina, I realised that the first step was that she needed to be forced to confront what she did, without trying to make excuses for herself. And who better to deliver some home truths. While most of this was and is about Graham and his coming to terms with himself, this needed to be said. Especially with a lot of attitudes being what they are and the double standard that, as a society, we manage to ignore with male sexual assault. Please, enjoy, or something, and let me know how I'm doing. It's the only thing that keeps me writing this.


	7. Small changes

Graham Humbart looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. He had not slept well. He'd tried another glass of whiskey, eaten the soup that Belle had sent, and then began exploring the bookshelves, but nothing held his attention. He couldn't seem to get out of his own head. Finally, he went for a walk. Unlike his headlong flight earlier, this was just a walk. At least in the forest he found a measure of peace. He stayed out as long as he could, watching the light fade from the sky and only returning when it was almost too dark to see. But he'd always been able to find his way. For him, the forest held no fear.

Back in the cabin, he lit a fire in the fireplace, and once again looked through the books until he found something to read, a book on this world's tax law which he thought would have to be boring enough to encourage sleep. Graham had gone to the bedroom, but he couldn't settle, so he took the book back and bedded down on the couch. There he'd spent a restless night, alternatively between dreams and nightmares.

Now he was trying to figure out what to do, and where to go from here. He studied his familiar face in the glass. _Keep the beard, I like it, it tickles,_ another flash, another memory. Graham reached for his kit. _Nothing that can't be undone_ , Rumplestiltskin had said. Small steps.

 

Looking in the mirror when he finished, he almost didn't recognise himself. He tried to remember how long it had been since he'd seen his own chin. Before Regina certainly, before...he decided he didn't want to think about that, or about anything else at this moment. Instead, he left the cabin and headed down the path. He was running, but it was a controlled run, the way he'd used to run the forest of the old world, with his wolf at his side. Graham wondered where she had gotten to. She'd run off after Regina took his heart, but he'd thought he saw her from time to time, but that was a question for another day. He kept running, though this time he was not fleeing from anything, just running for the pure calm of it, the peace, reacquainting himself with the only place he'd ever really felt at home.

 

Monday morning. Graham woke and took himself for a run. The sky was only just lightening when he returned to the cabin to pack his things away. It was then that he realised that he might have a problem. Dove had driven him on Friday, and, not knowing what was going to happen, he'd not brought his cell phone. Not that it would necessarily have mattered, cell signal was not all that good in Storybrooke in general, this far out, he doubted he'd get anything anyway. But he'd also noticed that there was no land line. When Rumplestiltskin wanted to get some peace and quiet, clearly, he got completely away.

Of course, he should have known that it would all be taken cared of. He'd packed up his bag (having discarded a bottle of aftershave that Regina had given him, and a shirt she had particularly liked on him) and was giving consideration to walking to town when there was a knock at the door. Dove had returned.

The quiet man drove him back to his apartment without comment. Graham just thanked him, and said he would speak to Gold later. He was under no illusions. The sorcerer was helping him only for Belle.  Well, for Belle and because he had a rather large score to settled with Regina. In general, the sheriff had preferred to stay out of the feud between them over the years, but that was then. Now, he would be content if he never saw the Evil Queen again, or at least not until he could think of her without the uncomfortable and confusing mixture of rage, shame, and hurt that right now, made even thinking about her cause his stomach to roil.

Then there was the small part of him, the part that had seen just how much she cared for her daughter (though of course, she had stolen her too, just as she had stolen him), that knew Regina was more than _just_ a monster, or that a monster was not _all_ she was. That was the part that whispered to him, made him want to confront her, and find out why. Graham wanted to shake the answers out of her and make her tell him what she was thinking, why she'd wanted to keep him as....He cut that thought off to focus on today, and getting through his first day back at work. Instead of dwelling longer, he took his bag upstairs, and hoped it was a steady day keeping the town safe.

 

Graham managed to get himself to the station just a little earlier than he usually did. At least the cells were empty. He'd stopped by Granny's to pick up breakfast and coffee to go (he wasn't really ready to deal with people or questions). He'd said his hellos and tried to get out as fast as he possibly could. "Hey Graham, I like it," Ruby told him, rubbing her chin as she dodged past him, a coffee pot in the other hand. At that point, he'd been glad he had his food and fled with as much dignity as he could manage.

He knew Ruby meant nothing by it. He had not expected that no one would notice. But it was a little too close, a reminder. _You should wear that shirt more often, I like it. Think you need a haircut, don't want you getting shaggy. Yes, that looks good on you_...Regina's voice began crowding in again and for a moment it disoriented him. "It's over, it's nothing, just memories. It's all in the past," he repeated to himself aloud like a mantra, as he sat himself down in his office trying to clear his head.

Finally, he managed to get the voice to retreat. He sat in his chair, breathing deeply and trying to focus on the report that David had left on his desk. Graham wondered briefly how long it would be before a woman could compliment him without it bringing up memories he'd prefer to forget.

 

Overall, the day passed simply enough for the sheriff. He'd broken up a fight between Nottingham and Fredrick, when the former, drunk as usual, had made a lewd comment about Abigail. He'd forgone the warning to the former sheriff. Besides his inebriated condition, Keith wasn't one to listen. Graham just hoped that the next woman he made a comment like that to was not Ruby, or worse, Belle, or that if he did, his will was made up. He'd been forced to give Ruby Lucas a speeding ticket (again) and then, after calling and watching the ambulance load the soon to be no longer pregnant Cinderella on board and roar off to the hospital, he'd gone to fetch her prince Thomas and his father from the council meeting. In other words, a relatively normal day in Storybrooke.

In the afternoon, he'd stopped by the pawnshop to return the sorcerer's keys and thank Belle for her cooking. Rumplestiltskin accepted the keys and Belle, well, she was always gracious. "See you took my advice," was the only comment the man made about Graham's change in appearance.

"One step at a time," Graham told him, trying to smile.

"Aye, just keep 'em small and easy to mend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here is a little more of the story. Hope everyone is still...well, I'm not going to say 'enjoy', but I hope there is still something worth reading. Please leave the comments in the little box.


	8. Going forward

When Graham returned to his apartment after a day of keeping the citizens of Storybrooke safe, he had an idea of how he wanted to proceed, or at least a thought, provided it was a quiet night. As the sheriff and the only law enforcement officer in town, he was rarely, bar things like David's intervention, actually off duty, just not actively patrolling.

He'd picked up a quick to go order (this time calling it in so he didn't have to hang around, he wasn't ready to talk to people) and headed back to his apartment. Looking around at the familiar room, he found it entirely generic. Of course that was really no surprise. But Graham decided he would worry about that later, when he had a chance to really consider. Maybe he would talk to Gold about moving. The small apartment had never been a home, just a place to sleep with the advantage of being equally close to the centre of town, his office, and Regina's house.

Still, he wasn't thinking about that now, instead, the sheriff got a bin bag from the kitchen and went into the bathroom. Regina had never been....well, even looking back it had always been strange, he just hadn't been able to see it, a fake relationship written by someone who didn't know what they were doing. It hadn't even been what this world called 'friends with benefits' since that would have required that they be _friends_ first, or at all. He couldn't even remember her making much effort, even though he knew perfectly well that she was capable of a great deal of feeling, it was almost as if she didn't know how to conduct a relationship. They rarely talked properly, not in the way of having a conversation, discussing books or poetry, anything. Rather, the conversations they had that did not involve falling into bed, were almost always about the town, or the princess. Oh, there were times, sometimes she would do something, usually in the form of expressing a preference, putting on sexy lingerie, or the odd gift. But even that, now that he considered, it was...shallow wasn't the word, clumsy, that was more like it.

Putting those thoughts aside, for the first time in two days, rather than trying to forget, Graham allowed himself to remember, just a little. Anything Regina had ever commented on positively, soap, shampoo, the little bottle of body wash from that time in the B & B when the water heater had gone out in the middle of a snow storm, all of it went into the bag. Then he went into the bedroom.

Fortunately, Regina had never really been into his apartment, more importantly, they had never been _together_ in his apartment, not that way. The man wasn't sure if he could have slept there otherwise, and considering how bad his sleep had been already, it didn't bear thinking about. Graham was almost certain he couldn't have dealt with that. Instead, like the bathroom, he went through the drawers and the closet, tossing things into the bag. It wouldn't wipe her from his memory, but perhaps, without reminders, it would fade some in time, or at least ease it. If nothing else, it would make him feel better, like he was doing something to take back his life, to heal.

When he finished scouring the apartment, he took the bin bags out. Somehow, Graham felt lighter. It was probably only temporary, but if it made it even a little better, right now, he would take what he could get. Then he sat down in his (emptier) apartment to eat his dinner.

After he finished, he sat at his table. What now? That was the question. He rose, and threw the containers away, opened the refrigerator and pulled out a cold fizzy drink, and opened it while looking around. For so long his life had been bound by his job and Regina. He wasn't entirely sure what to do now. He considered going for a run, but he wasn't sure he was up for it.

He looked around the small open living room/dining room. It looked like a hotel or something. It lacked...character, Graham could see nothing of himself here. He sat down on the sofa.  There were a couple of books on the shelf, a television that he rarely if ever turned on. He switched on the radio, but the only station he could get was the local Storybrooke station, which was hosting a call in chat show discussing, what else...Regina, and making guesses, speculations and suggestions about what would, could or should be done with her. He clicked it off. It was the last thing he wanted or needed to hear right now.

 Finally, unsure what else to do, he rose from his chair. There was always patrolling, not to mention keeping an eye on the Rabbit Hole. She had been right about one thing, the place was a nuisance. The owner was a dodgey character in either world, and Graham hand no reason to believe that the breaking of the curse had changed that at all. The sheriff was almost positive that he was selling after hours, and he was none too picky about the state of inebriation his customers left in as long as they were sober enough to order and to pay.

He decided to take a swing by the bar first, then do a general sweep of the town before heading back to watch them close and make sure no one was driving impaired, not to mention in need of sleeping it off in a cell. Work was good. Tomorrow, maybe he would find a book he wanted to read, or maybe music. Before, it hadn't really mattered. He realised with his heart back and his emotions freed, he had more opinions, even strong preferences now, where for so long he had been neutral on almost everything.

 

"Is she asleep?" Rumplestiltskin asked as Belle came into what had become their bedroom.

"She is," his love told him. "She's just having some difficulties. It was already awkward before. First she was Regina's daughter, and people walked carefully around her. Now she's also Snow and Charming's daughter. Add that she broke the curse and is living with the two of us. I gather that you knew that Emma didn't have a lot of friends before."

"No, it's actually how she and I...became acquainted," he told her. He wasn't going to admit that the little girl had been a welcome and friendly presence in his life before and after Belle. "Why, is someone giving her a _problem_?"

"Rumple," Belle warned. She was fluent in his overprotective streak, and, considering the things he'd told her about what happened with his son, she wanted to stop that before it started. "She has everything in hand, and if she needs your help, she will ask. That is not the important part. Right now, with the council in session, Emma is not having to deal with some things. But when they are done, she will have to figure out how to handle not only what happens with Regina, but with her real mother, who is a teacher in her school, while she is still trying to get to know her as a mother." Belle hung her robe (well, his actually, but she knew he liked her in it), made her way back to the bed and climbed in beside him.

"Wish they would hurry up and get themselves sorted," Rumplestiltskin grumbled as she snuggled up next to him. Not that she believed his old monster act. She knew he had a soft spot for the princess who was even now trying to sleep in the bedroom that he'd originally set aside (unconsciously) for Belle.

"Now, Rumple, you know you like the girl."

"Do not, just letting her stay because it gets multiple pairs of royal unmentionables in a twist."


	9. A different kind of trouble.

Rumplestiltskin was in the backroom of his shop looking over a contract. The annoying cinder princess had finally given birth to her girl child the day before and he was trying to figure out exactly what to do about it. He didn't particularly _want_ the child, he never had.  The contract was just necessary to put all the pieces into place for the plan to get them to his world. Still, a deal was a deal. The question was, what did they have that he _did_ want? He and Belle had enough premature parenting going on.

Then there was his other project, bringing magic back to this strange world. One of the first things that the Charming royals had done was to ask for volunteers to see what happened if someone crossed the line out of Storybrooke. Of course the sorcerer had gone along to observe. He had not volunteered. After all, he had to see what happened, not to mention being the only one with any experience to have a hope of countering anything. They'd managed to get the dwarf back before his memory was completely overwritten. So he might be a little confused for a while, but Rumplestiltskin was almost sure there was no real damage. Not that he cared, but he needed to get everything taken care of and set in order so that he could get on with the new plan. If only he could see exactly _how_ it fit together. The problem with being prescient, he reflected, was that the smallest thing could set everything on its ear. Hmmm, perhaps Prince Thomas was up for a spot of dragon slaying in exchange for his daughter. That was a possibility.

"Rumple, I'm going to sweep the front walk," Belle, the light of his life, said as she breezed into the room. Rumplestiltskin smiled. Nothing could have prepared him for what Belle meant to him and his life. She reached out and put an arm around him and kissed him. She never came into or out of a room without a hug or a kiss, if no one was around, or even if they were, depending on who it was. Her tactile nature, that she voluntarily touched him, made his black heart feel a little lighter. "When I've finished, I'll make tea."

"How long until the princess descends on us?" he asked, not ready to let go of her. He kissed her again, resisting the temptation to pull her into his lap, though it was not getting easier. But there was Emma to consider, she could come through the door at any moment. Rumplestiltskin didn't mind the girl, but he had not been a parent in centuries, and Belle never at all. They were both being cautious about how to raise her (not, he hoped, that she would be around too much longer), and not a little nervous. It was a big transition for them, especially since the two of them were still working on their own relationship. He lived in fear that it would all be too much for Belle, but so far things were working out, mostly.

"She is meeting Grace at Granny's to do homework, and Jefferson is taking her to Regina's after. Poor Jefferson, he's terrified to let Grace out of his sight. I'm surprised he doesn't stay with her at school," Belle said.

"Only because Grace won't have it, but I'd not bet on him not keeping his telescope on the school after he drops her off. Of course, leave it to Regina to have put her with a couple that didn't _want_ children in the first place, though they were good enough to her. But the two of them are back together again, as they should be. They will be fine. So we can pick her up..." Rumple said, looking at his desk

"No, she's having dinner with her adopted mother, so we have plenty of time, and dinner alone together," Belle said.

"Belle..." he started, but she gave him a quick kiss and slipped away with the broom and a smile that held a lot of promise.

Belle looked out at the quiet streets of Storybrooke, Maine, in the early afternoon. The weather was rather nice today, though Rumple said the bad weather was coming. She took a moment to enjoy the afternoon sunshine. All in all, it was a good day. If things went well, she was looking forward to having a quiet dinner alone with Rumple tonight. But that was for later. She held the broom and began to sweep the walk.

 

Graham wasn't exactly sure what his first indication was that there would be trouble, but as he walked down Main Street, keeping a general eye on the sleepy town and considering a bit of shopping, he felt something. He just needed to identify it.

He looked around, this time paying more attention. School had just let out, he saw Hansel and Gretel walking down the street with Princess Emma and Grace, or rather, the three girls were talking and walking together, while Hansel was lagging behind. Of course, being both a boy and a year younger, he probably wanted to be with them exactly as much as they wanted to have him there, but that was certainly not likely to be a problem for anyone but him. Marco was holding a ladder while August climbed up to repair something. He was still being protective of the old man, saying he'd just got him back. Archie walking Pongo, Belle sweeping the front walk, Moe (Maurice) French storming down the street...

There, that was it, Graham identified even as he was moving to intercept the man before he did something stupid, potentially painful, or both.

It had only taken three days after the curse had broken for this particular problem to raise its head. Graham wasn't certain how the former lord of Avonlea, present florist of Storybrooke, had come to find out that his daughter was with Rumplestiltskin, but it wasn't as if they were hiding. The couple walked down the street with her hand firmly on his arm, ate at Granny's together, and the sorcerer, if anything, treated her with a level of respect and courtesy more appropriate to a queen (and certainly with more than he treated the actual Queen, any of them for that matter). But it seemed that didn't matter.

The older man had stormed into the sheriff's office just as he had finished locking up the former sheriff of Nottingham for drunk and disorderly and creating a public nuisance. "Next time you try that, I'll just let Ruby take a bite out of you," he warned. "Mr. French, or..."

"Moe's still fine," the man said distractedly, there was lot of that going on around town as well. "I'm here to report a kidnapping."

"A...kidnapping?" Graham had said immediately. For the last two days his business had been almost entirely keeping people who remembered long held grudges (two of them married by the curse) from killing one another, and missing persons, as people used his office and the diner as central locations for finding each other. Reuniting families had been pleasant and helped to keep him from thinking about less pleasant things that needed doing. So that had been a surprise.

"Yes, my daughter, Belle, she's with that..." Belle, there was only one Belle in Storybrooke. Immediately he'd started reconsidering his position.

"Let's talk in my office," he'd told the big man, guiding him through the door and into a chair. Graham had tried, really he had. He'd listened, and attempted to talk sense into the man. He'd explained that Belle was an adult, and from everything he'd seen, she was quite happy where she was. He'd tried explaining that no magic was holding her, and suggested that Moe go to speak to her and Rumplestiltskin. He'd even offered to go with him.

From Graham's perspective, the florist was being dangerously unreasonable, especially since, while the sorcerer had no magic (or very little, he was a little vague on the principles involved) he cared abut Belle more than anyone or anything in this world, and he was still dangerous. Trying to take Belle away from the imp constituted hazardous behaviour for all concerned, and anyone in the immediate vicinity for that matter.

In the end, the sheriff had told the man he would go and see Belle and assess the situation. "But if she doesn't want to go, I can do nothing," Graham had warned him.

He had, in fact, managed to speak to Belle alone outside the diner, clearly taking lunch back to the shop. She had told him she would take care of it. Neither of them wanted to disturb the sorcerer with the issue.  Now, Graham only hoped that they could deal with this quietly. Moe reached Belle before he did, but he could hear him, and he only hoped that Rumplestiltskin could not. "Belle, come on girl. You can escape now." He reached for her arm.

"Stop it, Papa, I told you, I don't need to escape, I'm not a prisoner, more, I don't _want_ to escape. There is _nothing_ to escape from," she told him as she moved to avoid his grasp. "I love Rumple, and I am staying with him. You can accept that as my decision, or not, but I'm not changing my mind and I'm not going anywhere."

"Sheriff," the man appealed to Graham.

"I told you before, she is an adult, it's her decision. Now..."

"But it has to be magic, he must be doing something to her. I won't stand for it. She cannot stay with that beast."

 

Rumplestiltskin was trying to concentrate when something intruded, breaking his concentration. There was a commotion going on, someone was making a fuss. Belle, he realised. Belle had been going to sweep the walk and wasn't back yet. He rose quickly, grabbing his cane, and heading for the door. Whoever it was that was causing a fuss had best not involve Belle, or if they did, they had best hope their will was up to date, or at least their insurance paid up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little more of this story, a bit of what is happening around town as Graham tries to get his life together. Please...well, you know.


	10. Rash judgements

The scene that met Rumplestiltskin's eyes was one that brought a very cold rage from deep inside him, the sort of rage that stirred the malevolent spirit that he shared his soul with, the one he had more or less successfully kept bricked up in a dark closet of his mind since the breaking of the curse and the return of his True Love. The players were frozen at his sudden appearance. Moe French was in the act of reaching for Belle, who was pulling away, while Graham had moved to intercept him. "What do we have here?" the imp asked, his voice deceptively quiet as he came out of the shop.

"I've..." Moe French began belligerently.

"He..." Graham was hoping to keep the peace.

"Rumple," Belle directed herself to her True Love.

"Just one at a time please. Belle?" The sorcerer addressed his lady, a soft smile creeping over his face to the surprise of the only man who had no dealings with him since before the curse.

"It's nothing, Rumple, really. My father..."

"I've come to take my daughter home," the man said with more courage than good sense in Graham's professional opinion. "The curse is broken and we are in a new land, your deal is over."

"First," Rumplestiltskin began, clearly holding onto his temper only barely, and only for Belle, the sheriff was quite sure. "My agreement was with Belle, _not_ with you, and the terms were forever." Belle smiled and put a hand on his arm. "Second, I released her from our agreement before the curse was cast. She is free to do as she wishes. Love, do you wish to go?"

"No, I _don't_. That is what I have _tried_ to tell you, Papa. I love Rumplestiltskin and I want to stay with him. I am going to stay with him. You need to understand that, and accept it or...". Graham was wishing that he was anywhere else but close enough to be involved, even peripherally, in the Dark One's domestic arrangements. It was not lost on him that everyone who was still on the street was avoiding their stretch of sidewalk as if it was dangerous and likely to explode, which it was.

"You cannot stay with him. Sheriff, help me! He is a monster, a beast. The gods only know what he's doing to her alone in..." The man stopped as the look on the faces around him made Moe consider what he had almost said aloud. Belle's face was filled with a mix of emotions ranging from anger and embarrassment, to fear for what the sorcerer next to her would do.

Graham closed his eyes and prayed for strength. If he had learned anything, it was that Rumplestiltskin was an imp of honour, as odd as that notion was, and if there was anything he took worse that a slight to his honour, it was even the hint of a slight to the lady's. The sheriff had only just managed to save the last man to make a comment, a former guardsman who had been at Granny's, drunk, when they arrived for a meal, and that only by arresting him for public intoxication. At this point, he was considering the merit of leaving the man to his folly and coming back to escort his carcass to the hospital, jail, or the morgue, whichever proved necessary, always assuming that the sorcerer didn't have the magic stored up to turn him into a snail. Did he have the authority to arrest a snail?

"Are you accusing me of dishonouring your daughter?" Rumplestiltskin asked very slowly, enunciating each syllable to make certain that there was no misunderstanding.

Something on the sorcerer's face must have gotten through the anger, or possibly awoken his clearly stunted self preservation instinct. "She's my only daughter, my only child. I didn't mean...I...but..." Moe babbled a little. He had put his foot in it, clearly, and anyone could see that it had only served to unite the couple more firmly, and drive him further away, not to mention exacerbating his current and precarious position.

"A great many things are said of me," the sorcerer replied carefully. "Some of them are even true, but has it ever been said that I..."

"Rumple, no. Papa didn't mean it. Not that it matters," she said, shooting the man a dark look that dared him to open his mouth again. "I make my own choices, I always have. I _chose_ to stay with you. Papa, you can choose to accept it, or not. If not, it will sadden me, but I will not be forced to choose between you. Come, Rumple, it is time for our tea. Papa, when you have made up your mind, you can let me know. Graham, can you see him back to his shop, please?" The sheriff nodded, already planning the lecture he was going to give the man about actions and consequences, whether he wanted it or not.

"One last thing, Maurice," Rumplestiltskin said as he held the door for Belle. "You may say what you like about me, people have been for centuries. But you will keep a civil tongue in your head when speaking to or about your daughter, or I will keep it for you."

 

"What did you think you were going to accomplish?" Graham asked as he led the man away.

"I need to protect my daughter, get her away from him before..." He paused, clearly some things had sunken in.

"Moe, Maurice, I don't know you all that well, and I would not normally be one for advice, certainly not in this situation. But I have seen the two of them together and now so have you. If there is anyone who can and will protect your daughter, it's Rumplestitlskin. He would do anything for her. Be happy for her and leave it alone before you do something that cannot be undone," the sheriff said as they stopped in front of Game of Thorns.

The man looked at him, and Graham thought for a moment there might be some hope. Then he opened his mouth. "I can't. She's my daughter, and I cannot allow her to stay with him, under his evil influence. Besides, what would you know? You are hardly one to talk, everyone knows whose bed _you_ were sharing during the curse. You, who's allowed yourself to lay down with the Evil Queen herself, of course you wouldn't understand. I should have known better." With that parting shot Moe went into the shop and slammed the door behind him.

Graham stayed very still, waiting, willing the shame and anger he felt to fade a little. Of course, he thought it was consensual. Half the town wrote his relationship with Regina off as one of her little jokes, giving herself a secret boyfriend. They probably thought it was nothing, that he'd enjoyed it. He'd thought he enjoyed it, or at least at the time he'd...well, that was the worst part. He had thought he _was_ going willingly to her. There was pleasure, but none of it had been real, and as much as he tried to convince himself that it wasn't that bad, that he would get over it, he knew it wasn't true.

When he was certain he could move without throwing up, Graham turned his back on the florist shop. Next time the man decided to do something stupid, he told himself, he would just let him and pick up the pieces (or the remains) afterward. Meanwhile, he figured it was as good a time as any to go to the drugstore. He had things to replace. Small steps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a little more, proof that just because the curse is broken, a sheriff's work is never done. Please do that thing that you need to do.


	11. Nightmares

_"Come here, you know what I want," the familiar voice whispered seductively. "You know you want it as well." Regina laid back, lounging across the bed, her pale skin glowing in the light_.

No I don't, _he tried to say_. I don't want this, I don't want you. _But his words wouldn't come, instead he found his body moving towards her, one foot in front of the other, even as he tried to stop himself. He knelt on the bed beside her, feeling her hands running over him, caressing him._

 _"See, you want me just as much as I want you." Graham felt the shame burn through him as he realised she was right, he was aroused, even as he was trying to deny it, to pretend that nothing would make him desire her. He wanted to scream at her, to deny the evidence of his eyes. His skin was prickling, nerves warring with pleasure and revulsion.  His voice unresponsive to his commands, and he felt like if he didn't give his feelings voice, he would go mad. "Tell me how beautiful I am, tell me how much you desire me," Regina purred close to his ear_.

No, _he tried to shout, but instead of those words, he heard himself telling her exactly what she wanted to hear, whispering the words in her ear like a lover as he kissed her and pulled her closer into his arms. As she touched him, he began to scream..._

And woke up screaming, covered in a fine sheen of sweat. He threw himself from the bed and rushed into the bathroom. A few minutes, or possibly hours later, when he was certain he was finished, he turned on the shower and stripped off. Graham still couldn't feel comfortable naked. He could barely look himself in the mirror and even then, only his face. Shaving had helped somewhat, but only some. He stepped into the shower and turned the water even hotter, as if he could somehow boil himself clean, trying to wash off the scent of her, the taste of her in his mouth, even though it was only a ghost of the past.

It wasn't the first nightmare he'd had since having his heart returned to him, in fact, they had become a nightly occurrence, worse and much more graphic than the ones that plagued him just after he was released from the curse. Graham had been trying to avoid them in the time honoured method of just avoiding sleep, either that or pushing himself past the point of exhaustion when he would collapse in the bed and fall unconscious.

After he had scrubbed himself almost raw and boiled himself as if he was trying to sterilise his skin, he stepped out and dried. Then, rather than trying to get to sleep again, he put on his clothes and decided to go and patrol the town. If he couldn't sleep, he might as well work, besides, looking at his watch, it was almost time for the Rabbit Hole to close, and he'd been keeping a close eye on the place, stopping by randomly at the end to make sure the owner was obeying the law. _Just enough time. Tomorrow I will have to see if I can find some books, some very boring books_ , he thought as he left the apartment.

 

The town of Storybrooke was quiet as Graham took to the streets. He pulled up outside the Rabbit Hole, which at least appeared to be shutting down for the night, the usual crowd of last minute loiterers and layabouts were being shoved reluctantly out the door. Graham had made his position very clear, including that he would be doing spot checks to make sure they were abiding by the law. The owner had tried saying that there were no such laws in the Enchanted Forest so they didn't need to be bothered, but when Graham had volunteered to have him explain his position to the royal council (now on its second week of arguing over what to do with Regina, and none of them in a particularly good frame of mind) he'd backed down. The man knew that Graham wanted nothing more than to lock them up, him and his bar.

As the sheriff kept watch, Gaston, a former knight from Avonlea, called Gary in this world, who now worked for Belle's father, wove his way out on the arm of his friend, Luke Le Fou, also a former knight of Avonlea. The two of them were mostly just irritating, not exactly criminal masterminds, just the usual drunken troubles, but Graham watched them anyway, making sure they were walking, as he knew they couldn't drive, he'd personally taken both of their licences away for driving while impaired. But seeing the cruiser sitting there, the two men wobbled ostentatiously towards the centre of town and the small apartment they shared over the insurance office.

The sheriff wasn't exactly sure who they thought they were fooling, since they were the last ones out and he could see the car they shared sitting in the empty parking lot. Ah, well, it gave him something to keep him busy for a little while. He picked up his phone and called for Gus and the tow truck.

 

"Well, you did warn them," the young man who drove the tow truck said when he arrived. "Don't' know how they think they can get away with this kind of thing in a town this small, or that they didn't have enough people who disliked them that someone would tell you if you didn't catch them first. The question is, where do you want me to put it?"

Graham thought about it for a moment. It was a small town, to small for him too have anything like an impound lot. His only interview room outside his office was the broom closet, and evidence was a locked file cabinet in the corner. Then something else came to him, an object lesson. "Put it in front of the station, and we can clamp it for good measure." The tow driver looked at him and smiled. "Oh, Gus, don't forget to send them the bill for the towing."

"I charge extra for late night call outs," he agreed.

 

The rest of the night looked like it was going to pass relatively quietly. Graham drove through the empty streets of Storybrooke, seeing not another soul. He stopped outside Regina's house, resisting the inbuilt urge to park his car in the concealed spot near the hedge where he had always hidden it when coming to visit her. No longer though, he didn't need to creep around, sneaking in to her like a thief in the night. He needn't go to her at all.

It kept coming to him that he should have known, should have sensed something was wrong. If h had truly wanted to be with her, had actually cared for her, would he not, even once, have gone to her on his own? Would he have agreed so willingly to keep everything hidden, never done something special for her, taken her out for dinner, brought flowers, something? But that was the curse, it made everyone unaware of exactly how strange things were.

Keeping those thoughts firmly in his head, he pulled up to pass a few pleasantries with Frederick, Abigail's husband, who was on duty. "It's been quiet," the former knight told him. "Cora, I mean Emma, _that's_ taking some getting used to, she came and stayed to dinner, then Rumpelstiltskin and his lady came for her. That's a little difficult to wrap my head around too."

"Which part? Emma, Rumplestiltskin, Belle..." Graham asked. He understood. The breaking of the curse had turned a lot of things upside down.

"Any of it, all of it? I mean, I've no beef with the Dark One, and I only vaguely know his lady in passing, he did a good deal with my father in law though. Midas has always said that if you played fair with him, he would play fair with you."

"That's been my experience as well. The problem is that a lot of people try to cheat him, or don't pay attention," the sheriff agreed.

"Or they think that because he's the Dark One, it's all right to try to get out of a deal because he's a dark sorcerer. But I was thinking of the princess living with him. She's a good kid, and all, despite Regina, but.."

"I think she's still figuring it all out, just like the rest of us. If anyone in town is neutral, politically, it's Rumplestiltskin."

"Yes, people all fear him equally, regardless of station," the blond knight laughed.

"There is that. I think Emma's still trying to figure out where she belongs, where she fits, and there is no place safer than with him while she does it. "

"Aren't we all, sheriff, aren't we all?" he said.

Graham said his goodbyes, but as he looked up at the house, he caught a glimpse, a twitch of the curtain in the window to her bedroom as Regina looked out at him.

He turned the car away, back home. _Don't think about it, don't let yourself_ , he told himself but it was too late, already the thoughts he was trying to hard to escape were creeping around in his mind. It was the fear that on some level he _did_ want her, that he _had_ been willing. The feelings were perfectly normal, he reminded himself, the questions, the what ifs. Did I do something to cause this? What could I have done differently?  Did I bring this on myself? But knowing it didn't stop them from coming for him in the night, which was why he was out, driving around the empty streets of Storybrooke, trying to figure out how to move on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so here is some more of the story. Once again, this was not easy to write. Please bear with me, but I want to do this story justice. You know what to do.


	12. New World problems

"So why is that car in front of the sheriff's station with a big yellow thing on it?" Emma asked Graham the next morning. It was Saturday morning, and he had stopped at Granny's to pick up his breakfast to find that Snow and Belle had agreed to continue the tradition of Saturday breakfast at the diner. In this case, the princess was sitting between the two women, both of whom had calendars out, probably working on the schedule for the coming week. Of either Charming or Rumplestiltskin, there was no sign, though, considering the time, the sorcerer was probably over at his shop. Besides, both of them seemed to be more than willing to allow the balancing to fall on the women, though someone (probably Snow, who, while she was the more hated of the two, was not attached to a temperamental sorcerer that no one really wanted to upset), would have to deal with the other side, coordinating with Regina. Not that the former queen was getting out, or not further than her garden. Sidney Glass had asked for and received permission to visit though, and bring in things she needed. The sheriff was just glad he didn't have to have contact with her, not yet.

"Emma, you should at least say hello before you start asking questions of people," Snow scolded gently. The princess was eating her normal Saturday pancakes, while the women had much smaller breakfasts.

"All right, good morning Sheriff, why is there a car with a big yellow thing on it parked in front of the station?" Snow rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. Belle just laughed. They both appreciated the girl's bright and inquisitive mind.

"Well, the big yellow thing is called a boot and it keeps the car from moving by disabling the front wheel," he explained. "It is on the car and the car is parked there for the same reason, because the owners drove it to the Rabbit Hole last night, but were in no condition to drive it home. Since I was there to supervise at closing, they walked home, because neither of them wanted to get themselves locked up for not being safe to drive."

"Okay, so they were drunk," the princess said. "I get that, but it's not illegal to drive a car when you _aren't_ drunk, is it? I mean otherwise there wouldn't be commercials for designated drivers. So, if they didn't drive the car, why is the car there?"

"Well, it is illegal to drive a car when I took both of their licenses away already for driving under the influence," he explained.

"Oh, I get it. It wasn't illegal for them to drive it there in the first place, it was illegal for them to drive it anywhere. Now I get it. If they weren't supposed to drive, then why did they do it? Seriously, it's hard to live too far to walk from anywhere in this town. Maybe in a snow storm, but not now."

"Exactly, and if you leave a car in a parking lot overnight without permission, especially if it's posted, then it can be towed. Technically, I should have gotten Mr Gold's permission, since he owns the building and the lot, but I didn't think he would mind, not as much as he would mind me waking him up."

"No doubt," Belle agreed. "Or me. And who are these miscreants and scofflaws? Storybrooke's own criminal masterminds, a budding Moriarty in our midst?"

"Hardly," Graham told them, "More Laurel and Hardy. It's Gaston and..."

"Oh, no, he's here?" Belle cried.

"Are you all right, Belle?" Snow asked.

"Yeah, Belle, I mean he's one of those...well, my mom, my other mom," Emma amended quickly looking at Snow White. "She says he and his friends are drunken yahoos, at least that's what she calls them when she thinks that I can hear her. But she says they are really just annoying and irresponsible."

"It's not that, it's..."

"Hey Sheriff, what's the big idea?" The subject of their discussion burst into the diner, looking like he had just fallen out of bed, still wearing the clothes from the night before, shirt half buttoned in the wrong holes,hair all standing up on one side, flat on the other, eyes blurry, and possibly not entirely sober yet.

"What do you mean?" the sheriff asked, backing away from the man's breath, hoping he didn't get any closer to the princess. Just breathing near him would probably raise her blood alcohol.

"You are supposed to say hello before you start asking questions," Emma commented, pouring more syrup over her pancakes. The man just glared at her before turning back to him.

" _Why_ is my car in front of the sheriff's station with a boot on it, and _why_ is there a bill for towing tacked to my f...."

"Watch your language in front of my daughter," Snow snapped regally. She had a great deal of respect for good and noble knights, many of whom had fought with them in the war. Clearly this man had either forgotten how to act or never knew how, but either way, he needed lessons.

"Hey," he started, then realising who was addressing him, stood up straight, adjusted his (still misbuttoned) shirt, and tried to flatten down his hair. "I'm...um...sorry your majesty. My roommate went to get the car for work, and it..."

"Your roommate LeFou, the same roommate who lost his driving license the week after you did?" Graham asked. He probably shouldn't be enjoying this, he thought.

"I...he...he wasn't going to drive it. He...er...he needed something out of it...for work." Thinking on his feet was also clearly not in his skill set, or, if it was, it was still submerged in its alcohol bath. "So, he came running back, screaming, and said the car was gone. He thought it had been stolen. Then we saw the tow bill taped to the door. Why did you _tow_ my _car_?"

"First," Graham said, with more patience than he felt. "Neither of you is to be driving anything anywhere, I made that clear the last time I took your licence."

"We weren't...

"Then how did your car get into the parking lot of the Rabbit Hole, magic?' Graham had about as much of the man as he was currently willing to stand, especially when he was standing too close and his breath was probably toxic. Also, in a diner full of people was not the place for this. "And did you _read_ the sign in the parking lot about leaving cars?"

"No...it...Belle?" Gaston asked, finally taking in his former fiancée sitting with the Queen and the Princess. Of course, he had heard the rumours, and Maurice had been on about something yesterday. Gaston hadn't paid much mind, he might have had a bit of a hangover at the time. But Maurice was always complaining about Belle. In the old world, it was because she went off with the Dark One, in exchange for getting rid of their ogre problem. Not that Gaston hadn't been glad the ogres were gone, glory in battle was all well and good, when you got to come back and brag about it for free booze and lots of women, but he wasn't interested in actually _dying_ for it. On the other hand, the Dark One had cost him a cozy and lucrative place as the husband of Belle, and therefore the de facto ruler of Avonlea after Maurice died. Besides, Belle might be odd, but she was beautiful, the perfect complement to him, the perfect ornament.

"Hello, Gaston," she greeted him. He gave her his best, charming smile.

"So, what are you doing here? Finally ditched the beast? I could be convinced to take you back you know. I..."

"Your car," Graham reminded him sharply, pulling the conversation back away from the women. He'd been through this one yesterday, and he wasn't in the mood for round two, especially if someone called the pawnshop. Gaston was a loud, obnoxious braggart, and those were his _best_ traits. What he wasn't, was one of this realm's (or any other's) great thinkers, and while the sheriff wasn't opposed to a fight, in fact, it might make him feel better to hit something, he didn't think here and now was the best idea.

"Yeah, I'll get back to you in a sec, Belle," the lummox said, winking at her and ignoring the looks of disbelief on the faces of those at the table, or in earshot. "Now sheriff." Graham took his arm and guided him away towards the back hall where no one was likely to get hurt and they would not be overheard.

"Snow, can you drop Emma by the shop later, when you are finished?" Belle asked. "I've lost my appetite."

"Of course, Belle, but what..."

" _That's_ you're ex fiancée?" Emma asked. " _Who_ thought _that_ was a good idea?"

"Father. He brought a lot of men with him in the bargain to fight against the ogres," Belle explained. "It was an arrangement."

"I can see why you went off with Rumplestiltskin, even _with_ the green skin," the girl commented. "He's weird, but at least he's _smart_ weird." Belle just smiled. Snow waved away her offer to pay, and as she was slipping out, Belle could see Graham turning Gaston so he couldn't see her leave. If she was lucky, he'd forget all about her when she was gone. Considering he smelled like a distillery and looked like he'd slept on a tavern floor, she thought the chances were pretty good.

 

 _Damn sheriff_ , Gaston thought angrily. The man refused to be reasonable. What was the point of having a car if you couldn't drive it? Besides, he'd no right to take his license, he'd not been going that fast when he ran over those trash cans. They shouldn't have been that close to the curb. He'd only drunk a few dozen beers. No, thinking about it, he might have had a shot too...or maybe two, three top end. Then there was LeFou. He'd only been driving one way when the sheriff stopped them, and he hadn't meant to back into the cruiser, his foot slipped, it could have happened to anyone. They'd got that headlight fixed.

But now Graham was being completely unreasonable. The sheriff was insisting that they had to appear in court on the charges stemming from the incident with the trash cans that had cost him his license after he'd missed the last one, (he thought with the curse broken, it didn't matter anymore, they never needed them in the old world), pay all his fines, _and_ the towing bill before he would take the boot off the car. Where did the man expect him to get all that money?

In addition to that, when he looked, Belle was gone. He'd stepped over to ask Queen Snow and Princess Cora...Emma, whatever her name was, where she had gone, but they had not been helpful.

"What's it to you?" the smart mouthed princess asked.

"She's my fiancée," he'd snapped, probably not the best idea, but his head hurt and anyway, what did the kid know?

"Ah, no. I think that's _ex_ fiancée. If anything, she's Gold's fiancée, or Rumplestiltskin if you prefer, or she will be when he gets around to it. He's her True Love, and all that mushy stuff. I'd stay away from her if I were you," she'd told him.

"Or what? I'm not afraid of Gold even if he is Rumplestiltskin, whatever. I can take care of the beast."

Now he just needed a plan, or a couple of plans maybe. Unfortunately planning wasn't really him. Maybe he could take care of everything at once. Belle was living with Gold, and he had lots of money, so if something happened, she would have lots of money, and she'd give him some. He just needed the right approach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think it must be my day to write smart ass kids. Hope you enjoy. This will provide at least a little comic relief from this angst fest. Please do what you are supposed to do...


	13. Opportunity

Graham Humbart stripped out of his clothes, changing them for a sweat shirt and sweat pants. It would probably be a little warm, but he knew it was the best he could do right now. If he was in the forest, perhaps, with no people around... But he didn't have the time. He needed a run, and hopefully, a nap. It was going to be a long night, and he expected Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber to try to get their car tonight. It was just the sort of bone headed manoeuvre that they would think was a good idea after more than a few pints of liquid courage at the Rabbit Hole. Which would mean, in all likelihood, the two of them ending up enjoying his hospitality for at least the evening. Neither of them was exactly smart, and what Maurice thought a brilliant girl like Belle would have in common with Gaston was beyond him. He might not understand her relationship with the imp, but no one ever accused him of not being intelligent. The downside was that it would mean staying at the station overnight. Not that it mattered much, but he supposed it would be better than tossing and turning, or the nightmares.

Pushing all those thoughts away, he went out the door, wishing only that he didn't have to keep his phone on him for emergencies. He did wish he had help some days, if only someone to answer calls while he was doing other things. Then he started down the road. A couple of miles would clear his head.

 

Graham was turning back towards town, feeling much more centered than before and more comfortable, not to mention the potential of a nice nap. Or so he was thinking when he hit Main Street again and ran into Ruby, or Red, not one of Regina's more original name changes. She too looking like she was coming back from a run, though admittedly wearing a great deal less than he was, but that was Red at any time.  He tried to focus on her face and not blush. But unlike him, she didn't look like the run had given her peace.

"Hey Ruby," he said politely.

"Sheriff." She didn't seem quite herself. Ruby was a lot of things, bubbly, friendly, flirtatious, and while the last made him a little uncomfortable since the curse broke, he knew she didn't mean it. It was just a part of who she was. It made her an excellent waitress. What she wasn't, was quiet. She neither smiled nor joked the way she usually did.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Not that he was the epitome of okay himself, but still, he had to ask.

"I...No, not really," she admitted. "I thought maybe a run would help, but it's not really getting me anywhere. Looks like you had the same idea. Aren't you too hot in that?"

"What's the matter, is there something I can do to help?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"Not unless you know of a job that will pay enough for me to move out of the B and B," she said. It sounded like she was trying to make a joke but failing.

"Are you leaving the diner?" Graham asked. That was concerning. After all, while he knew she and Granny had their problems, he had never thought of her leaving, much less doing something else.

"I thought...well, I was thinking about it before the curse broke, but then everything changed, you know. The thing is that it didn't really matter. When it all comes down to it, we still have the same issues as before. I love her, but she's still trying to control my life. We had a huge fight this afternoon and I kind of walked out. Snow and David offered to let me crash with them, but the truth is I can't do that for too long. What happens if EmmaCora decides to come home tomorrow? So I need to get a place of my own, and for that, I need a job. But, hey, here I am spilling out everything to you, ruining your run," she apologised.

"No, I was done anyway. I've got to get back to the station. I expect tonight to be long," he told her dismissively. The truth was, it was probably the longest conversation he'd had with anyone but Gold since the curse broke.

"Hey, I don't suppose _you_ need help? I mean, someone to answer the phones, keep an eye on things, maybe file reports?" she suggested, half teasing. That was more like the Ruby he knew.

Graham started to open his mouth to deny it, but even as he did, the thought came back to him. He _did_ need help. Real help, not just asking Fredrick to cover for him for an hour. Like tonight. If he ended up having to arrest those two idiots, someone would need to keep an eye on them. Not to mention how many times he'd had to jump out of the shower, meals left in the middle, or worse when the station phone rang through to his cell. He knew he was allowed to and, it wasn't as if Storybrooke was a hotbed of criminal activity so a proper deputy was not really needed.  Besides, Ruby could certainly handle herself, no matter what the phase of the moon. He'd seen her throw a guardsman out the door of the Rabbit Hole without breaking a sweat when the man had put his hands where they didn't belong. "Actually," he found himself saying without even realising he'd opened his mouth. "Why don't you come by the station later. I need to look some things up, but if you are serious, I could actually use some help. It would only be temporary at first, just to see how it worked out."

Before he could even react, Ruby grabbed him in a big hug. Immediately he tensed, felt sweat breaking out on his forehead. The young woman didn't notice though. "Thank you, you won't regret it," she said eagerly. "I'll stop by after dinner. If you are going by the diner, don't say anything though, okay. Wow, and here I thought this day was a wash. This is _great_." She released him and hurried off down the street.

Even as she ran off, he was still standing stuck, stone still. It was Ruby, she didn't mean anything by it, she was no threat. She was just Ruby, she didn't mean anything by it. Still, he had difficulty not shuddering. Graham took several deep breaths. He was still having trouble being touched. _Perhaps this will be a good thing_ , he told himself. _Maybe a friendly woman around, someone who doesn't want anything from me but a job, maybe friendship, maybe that's what I need to start feeling okay again. Besides, what do they say in this world? 'Fake it 'til you make it'._ What he knew for sure, it couldn't hurt, at least he didn't' _think_ it would.

 

Graham returned to his apartment after his encounter with Ruby, had a quick shower and tried to take a nap. He didn't have a lot of luck with that, though he did manage to read his way through the state of Maine's driving handbook, proof that he needed some help. He certainly wasn't going to find a more boring book.

In the end, he rested a bit, got up, heated some canned soup rather than go to the diner, and checked his messages (none). Then he decided on a quick patrol before going back to the station to look for that paperwork.

As he drove through town, things seemed pretty quiet and normal. Archie was walking Pongo. He waved in passing. Marco and August (Geppetto and Pinocchio) were leaving the diner and two dwarves, though which two he couldn't identify from the back, were going in. Cinderella and Thomas (who had definitely decided they liked their real names) were wheeling baby Alexandria down the sidewalk in a pram. _They look happy_ , he thought as he waved and turned the car.

A circuit around the town. Belle and Rumplestiltskin were walking together, his cane in one hand, her holding firmly to the other arm while they headed towards the pink Victorian. From the direction they had probably walked Cora to Regina's. At that thought, he decided that was enough. He wasn't going to drive by the Queen's house, not going to torture himself with memories. Instead, he turned determinedly back towards the station. It might very well be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a little more of the story. Please do that thing you do, so I know that you are still reading, and hopefully enjoying.


	14. Double Trouble

“So what are you expecting to happen tonight?” Ruby asked Graham as the two of them peered out the window overlooking the front of the station, where the car sat, parked next to the one and only squad car.

Graham had found the job description, an application, and the forms to file with the city (say what you would about the curse, it was thorough). Ruby had agreed immediately, and started to fill everything out. It might not be a permanent solution, actually Graham wasn’t even certain paperwork had any validity in this new reality, but it couldn’t hurt, and he'd certainly rather have it than not. They were still doing a lot of things by rote after ten years of the curse.

Afterward, she had stayed while he made another quick sweep of the town, and then decided to keep him company.  Now, he was waiting. Ruby was standing near, though not _too_ near. “I’m not sure anything will happen. But, if I was a betting man, I would be willing to put money that Gaston, with or without the help of his sidekick, is going to try to get his car back,” he told her.

“They can’t get the boot off the car though, and even if they did, it’s not like they could drive it around town without being seen. I mean, I know they are both dumber than a pair of ogres, and they have pickled more than a few of their remaining brain cells down at the Rabbit Hole with Keith, but do you really think they are _that_ stupid?” Ruby asked, but even as she thought about it, she had admit, he had a point. In the old world, Gaston was used to doing as he liked by virtue of being a Knight. here, though, things were different and he was one of the ones that was not adapting well now that the curse was broken, expecting everything to go back to the way it had been.

“He tried to make a play for Belle in the diner this morning,” Graham said.

“Okay, you’re right. I hope that no one told Gold that, it would likely get ugly, although it might solve the problem. So the plan is to let them get started and then arrest them?”

“Yes, pretty much. Simple enough. I just hope they don’t try to cause trouble.”

“Well, at least you have me to help. I’m not a real deputy, but I know a lot about jerks who don’t know where their hands need to be,” she said with a smile.

 

It didn’t take long for Graham to discover the other, unexpected and pleasant side effect of his new hire, her ability to coax a drinkable cup of coffee from the old machine that had come as a part of the furnishings. Before coming to this land, coffee was unknown to him, or anyone else for that matter. but now that they had discovered it, he wondered how they had gotten along without it. That and chocolate.

“Here you go,” Ruby said, bringing him another mug.

“You don’t have to do that, you know,” he told her.

“Considering the state of that thing, yes, I do. Seriously, when did you last clean it? I’m surprised you haven’t poisoned yourself,” she said with a smile. “But all joking aside, it’s familiar and I’m good at it. The rest I’ll have to learn, but making and serving coffee, I'm an expert there.”

“You don’t need to stay, you know,” Graham told her for the second time.

“I know, but I’m nocturnal anyway, no shock there and it gives Snow and David some private time. Besides, I figured after you get them caged, I could take some of the watching. I mean, that’s part of the idea, right? To be able to keep the yahoos safely in jail while you get on with other things? I mean, it’s not like we are a hotbed of criminal activity, but there is still stuff happening.” The sheriff had to agree there, she was right, though with Ruby in his office, it was going to cut down on his traffic offences. She was the town’s resident speed demon, well, her and Doctor Whale.

Two hours later, they were still watching, or rather, they were taking turns. Ruby had watched while he filled out his day’s paperwork. He wasn’t sure why he continued, it wasn’t as if he had anyone to report to at the moment, except maybe Snow and David, but of course they were tied up with the much larger issue of Regina. There was a subject he was doing everything to avoid, so he’d not bothered to try and sort the chain of command out, not yet.

He had just traded places with Ruby, when he saw…well, he supposed it was what the two of them thought of as subtle. LeFou walked along the street, only weaving slightly. It wouldn’t have been a strange sight, except that he lived the other way, off of Main Street, closer to the edge of town, and the Rabbit Hole. The man looked at the station, trying to pretend he wasn’t staring. Then he continued on, slowing down by the police cruiser. The presence of the car might have been a clue except that the sheriff lived close enough that he usually left it there overnight. But the man continued on down the street, only to return and repeat the same performance a few minutes later.

When nothing happened, he waved towards the shadows near the (never opened) Storybrooke Public Library, and Gaston crept out, or at least the sheriff assumed that was what he was trying to do. It looked more like he had something uncomfortable in his shoe or had pulled something. Privately he assumed they had been watching too many movies involving criminal activity and daring do.

“So, when do we nab them?” Ruby said from far too close to him. With an effort, he managed not to jump, but it was a near thing.

“We need to wait until they have actually done something,” he said, keeping his voice level. It was just Ruby, and she had never been much on personal space. Of course, it didn’t matter, they had work to do.  Neither of them had any doubts about whether those two were going to break the law, _that_ was a forgone conclusion.

 

Gaston joined his friend but the car, parked as it was conspicuously in front of the sheriff’s station. “Anything?” he asked.

“Can’t see anything. No one’s around at this hour, and you know he likes to get around to the Rabbit Hole when they close,” LeFou said. “This will be easy, we just have to get this thing off the wheel and we’re home free.”

“That’s why I brought this,” the other man said, putting out a small pry bar.

“I’ll do it.” He reached for the bar but missed.

“No, I’ll do this. It’s going to require strength and we all know I am the strongest man in town,” Gaston bragged.

“Of course you are,” the other man agreed.

“Well, stand back.”

 

Inside, Graham and Ruby watched, unable to decide between marvelling at their stupidity or laughing. On the second attempt, Gaston had failed to set the pry bar right, and, when he’d applied pressure, it slipped out. He flailed, almost lost his balance, and lost a hold of the bar which just missed his companion. Gaston cursed, and kicked the boot, which only resulting in more cursing and louder.

“Come on then,” Graham told her. “We had best go lock them up before they do any more damage to themselves or each other, or worse, they wake people up.”

“Hey, you can always charge them with disturbing the peace, or violating the noise ordinance,” Ruby suggested, following him out.

“Why choose?”

 

They exited the building not particularly quietly, but the noise made by the two less than competent criminals meant that they weren’t noticed until hey were practically on top of them.

“What is it you two think you’re doing?” Ruby asked.

“Wuh, uh, hey, Ruby…er…Red, what are you…” LeFou started while Gaston continued to swear at the boot that he was trying to pry ioff. Then he saw the sheriff. “Ah, Gaston…”

“Just a minute, I think I’ve almost got this,” the man said, his back to them, concentrating on what he was doing.

“ _Gaston_ ,” he tried again more urgently, this time with a tug on his shirt.

“What did I say?” the larger man growled at him. Then he saw the look. He turned. “Sheriff, Red, what are you doing here?”

“I think that’s what _I_ should be asking _you_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And no, I haven't forgotten about this one either. Please do that thing you do to help keep the muse interested. Enjoy.


	15. Everyday problems

Storybrooke was quiet when Graham walked back from the diner to his office with a large carrier bag of food. It had been two days since he had hired Red and arrested Gaston and his side kick. One of those things had ended well, the other involved Gaston.

He paused at the door before going in and took a deep breath. One of the unfortunate similarities he and Red shared, besides a love of the forest and running, was an extremely acute sense of smell, unfortunate because dumb and dumber, in addition to being deficient in brains and manners, were no great shakes in the personal freshness department. The second issue to arise over those two was getting them arraigned, and out of his jail. Every judge in town (both of them) and the DA were closeted in the royal council, which looked like it was heading into another week, something else that was not improving anyone’s mood.

The only other legal mind in town was Rumplestiltskin and he had no standing particularly, aside from being the only attorney not stuck in council, and had not been well disposed to Gaston before someone (or several someones probably) had told him about the encounter in the diner. Fortunately for Graham and Red’s sanity or at least their noses, he’d managed to get Midas and George to agree to come by long enough to satisfy form. Whether the two of them would be able to post bail, should it be required, was another issue, but fortunately for the sheriff, it wasn’t his.

“Lunch,” he called out as he stepped into the office. Red was still not speaking to her grandmother, so Graham was also in charge of meal pick up. “And good news.”

“You are finally going to let me turn the hose on those two,” she asked. She was sitting behind the desk, reading a book from his shelf on traffic regulations and violations, possibly seeing which ones she hadn’t broken.

“Not exactly. But Fredrick is going to come help me escort them to the shower. Still, keep the other option open, just in case they give us trouble.

“Nothing wrong with the way I smell,” LeFou complained.

“Not if you are a male goat, no,” Red shot back.

“Hey, come on, Red, don’t be like that. I don’t mind if you escort me to the shower. You sure you don’t want to help? You can scrub my back for me,” Gaston said, with a leer that was audible.

“The only think that’s getting scrubbed by me, is your mouth if you don’t keep it shut, with a wire brush,” she replied without even looking up.

“Come on, you know I can show you a few things. Or are you afraid you can’t handle me?”

“There is _nothing_ about you that I would _want_ to handle even with protective gear, not for money, not even if you were the last man in this realm. What’s for lunch?” she asked the sheriff ignoring the other two. 

“For you, hamburger, rare, lettuce, and tomatoes, and fries. Oh, and a salad,” Graham said as he started to unpack the bag, trying not to smile at her handling of Gaston. LeFou had already gotten an object lesson when he tried to put a hand on her when she was handing over his food. It hadn’t much help his hygiene either. “And today’s special for the prisoners.”

“Meatloaf?” LeFou asked, grabbing the bars.

“Lasagna?” Gaston suggested, all thoughts of his heavy handed version of flirting forgotten.

“Creamed chipped beef on toast,” Graham told them. “Served with broccoli.”

“Ugh,” LeFou groaned.

“Why can’t I get a burger?” Gaston demanded.

“What do you think this is, a hotel? Not even an inn. You should be grateful. In the old world, if you were in Regina’s dungeon, you’d be lucky if you got fed.” Red shot back. Graham just shuddered a little. He knew from first hand experience about Regina’s dungeons and like anything to do with Regina, it brought a momentary shudder.

“Because the county pays Granny a fixed amount to feed you. You get what you get,” Graham said, getting away from the subject and taking them their meals, before retiring to his own office to eat, waiting for Red to join him. Food was better with a door between them and the prisoners.

 

Emma headed to the pawnshop after school and a mug of cocoa with Grace, just like she had been doing every day since the curse broke. She had a lot on her mind, and she couldn’t really discuss it with her best friend, not right now. Her mother, (Snow White, as opposed to her mother Regina) had told her to tell Mr. Gold that she and Dad (only one of those at least) that they wanted to come by and talk to him after supper.

Not that she thought she was in trouble or anything, but Emma was kind of afraid that it was about the living stuff. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her parents, she did, or at least she loved that she had them and she really was starting to know them as parents for the first time, but she just wasn’t ready to be a full time daughter to them. Plus there was her other mother, Regina. Living with Rumplestiltskin and Belle didn’t make her happy, but Emma was sure that she wasn’t going to like it more when she went to live with her birth parents. Her mom was kind of scared that she wasn’t going to love her anymore, no matter how many times she said. She didn’t always like her mother, and she wanted her to stop being a villain, but she still loved her.

Then there was the other part. She knew that Rumplestiltskin was probably tired of her. He never said anything, but she had overheard him talking to Belle about grown up stuff, and she was pretty sure that they were trying not to be all kissy and gross around her, but they wanted to, she was sure that’s what they were talking about. Besides, that’s what adults did after all, wasn’t it?

Rather than worry, she went into the shop. The bell rang and Belle looked up from behind the counter and smiled. On the other hand, neither of them seemed too bothered. Rumplestiltskin acted like it was a problem sometimes, but she knew he was just teasing. He insisted that the two of them walk over to pick her up when she was at her mother’s (Regina), and they were always nice to her, offering help on her homework even.

“Emma do you want a snack before you go to your mother’s? Rumple is collecting rent, so he said dinner would be a little late,” Belle explained.

“Granny’s?” the girl asked. It was what they did on Wednesday when the shop was open late.

“Yes, unless you want to stay with Regina.” It was hard for Belle to say that, Emma knew it. The woman didn’t like her mom, with good reason, so she appreciated the offer and said so.

“Not tonight though. It’s the night Sidney Glass comes and brings Mom dinner, and he’s still a creep. I’ll be fine. Paige, I mean Grace, she and I had a hot chocolate at the diner. Her dad’s getting better, even if he still walked us like we are kids. I’m just going to…”

The bell rang, interrupting her. It was Moe French, Belle’s father, and he didn’t look happy. Belle waved her into the back quickly, though Emma was pretty sure he hadn’t even seen her. Actually he looked really mad, like he was going to blow a gasket, and for a moment Emma wasn’t sure she wanted to leave Belle alone with him, but she figured if something happened, she could call Rumplestiltskin or go for the sheriff, or both.

“Where is he?” Maurice French roared as he entered the pawnshop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a bit, got tied up with life and finishing another story. Please do the thing, so I know people are still reading.


	16. Rent day

“Good afternoon, Papa. It is so good to see you,” Belle said, determined that she was going to stay calm. Thus far, her father had been hostile to Rumple and unwilling or unable to accept her choice, but she would keep trying.

“Belle, where is that…where is Rumplestiltskin?” he asked, but at least he modulated his tone a little.

“He is out collecting rent, Papa. It is the first of the month, after all,” Belle reminded him.

“That was before the curse broke. It doesn’t mean anything anymore. It is like your deal, it’s all over,” he told her.

Belle sighed. She wondered exactly when her father had become so…unreasonable. “Just because the curse is broken does not change things. People are still doing their jobs. Or do you think Granny should give away her food?” she asked.

“It’s not the same thing at all,” he said stubbornly. “And you know it.”

“Why? Because you don’t like Rumple? Papa, I am not having this discussion with you again. Now, what did you want to talk to Rumple about?” she asked.

“I just came from seeing Gaston and LeFou over at the jail. They said he’s evicting them! Can you believe that? This is the man you want to stay with, the kind of man who evicts…”

“Two men who are right now in jail for trying to steal their car from in front of the police station? A car they weren’t supposed to be driving in the first place? You aren’t letting Gaston drive the delivery truck, are you, Papa?” The man had the good sense to look down. “Papa, he doesn’t have a license. Do you know…”

“It was nothing, Graham should never have…”

“They were both driving drunk, papa, they could have killed themselves or someone else. Please tell me you won’t let him drive the truck anymore, please?” she implored. It did not seem to be sinking in. “If you aren’t going to listen to me, then tell me what you want Rumple for. I can give him a message when he comes back.”

“No, no, my girl, I’ll…I’ll catch him up,” her father said quietly. There was something about the look on his face that made her uneasy.

“Papa, please don’t start a fight with him. I love you both, and I don’t like all this discord,” Belle tried. For a moment the big man was silent, looking thoughtful.

“I’ll try, Belle. But I can’t guarantee anything. He is still a monster. Maybe…why don’t you have dinner with me, just the two of us? Not tonight, but maybe in a few days? I have to see what I can do about helping Gaston, but…”

It seemed a small enough thing. Reluctantly, Belle agreed and gave her father a hug. Maybe it was a small step in the right direction, at least she hoped it was.

As soon as he left, Emma came out of the back. “You okay, Belle? That was kind of weird,” the girl said.

“Papa’s always been a little hot headed. He just needs time.”

“I don’t know, he changed his tune awfully quick. I’d be careful, Belle. I mean, I know he’s your dad and all but…just be careful, okay?”

 

“Well, that’s better,” Red said. Midas and George had come by, and with less fuss that it took to get them cleaned up, had gotten them sorted and released with a couple of hefty fines, a lot of community service, and a warning that, in George’s words ‘If you do anything that stupid again, you will be in those cells so long that you will forget what the outside looks like. The sheriff’s successor will be bringing your meals.’

“Smoother than I expected,” Graham said honestly.

“Probably because it’s simple after a day of arguing over what’s to be done with Regina. Want me to hang around while you patrol? Since we don’t have anyone to watch overnight anymore.”

“That would be good, yes,” he said, grabbing his jacket without a second thought. He had been inside too much in the last few days as it was. One of the good things about being sheriff from his perspective was that it allowed him to spend a lot of time in the open air. Especially right after he got his heart back, being inside had made him feel claustrophobic, like he couldn’t breathe inside.

It was getting better, at least he thought it was. There were still nightmares, but he was getting _some_ sleep in between. Graham wished there was some way to research, to learn more, but without a library, the only person who might have something was Archie, and Graham didn’t have it in him to ask. In a town as small as Storybrooke, he couldn’t even try ‘I'm asking for a friend’. Besides, while no one seemed to have discovered his secret, or at least to understand except a few, Archie wasn’t stupid. He would know immediately.

Shame was a normal reaction, but knowing, knowing that he had nothing to be ashamed of, rationally, it didn’t change how he felt. Maybe some day, but today was not that day. Trying to escape his thoughts, he hurried off to make sure everything in Storybrooke was as it should be. He could protect the town, even if he’d been unable to protect himself.

 

The town seemed to be pretty quiet, and Graham was considering going back and sending Ruby off since they had been working all out since she’d joined him. Unfortunately, ‘quiet’ was ruined as he stepped around the corner. Moe French was in front of his shop with Mr. Gold. As usual, the sorcerer looked completely calm, while Moe looked anything but. “Why you…” the big man growled.

“If ye take that swing, ye’d best make sure you take me down,” the sorcerer told him. “You’ll not get another.” Despite his lack of stature, Graham would put his money on Rumplestiltskin, even without his magic, but decided breaking it up was probably the best option. Belle would certainly prefer it, and she had been kind to him. Arresting either of them, (or both, but that bore even less thinking about) was guaranteed to cause even more difficulties.

“Is there a problem here?” the sheriff asked, taking their attention off one another.

“Depends on your definition of trouble, Sheriff,” Gold said smoothly. “Mr French wishes to intervene in the eviction proceedings against your two jailbird's, while simultaneously arguing about both his rent and the payment on his loan.”

“He can’t just throw them out,” Moe appealed to Graham. “Besides, none of it was real. It was magically created. It isn’t real, any of it.” He did seem calmer though. Of course there was more to it, they all knew it. If it had just been Gaston, or the money, he wouldn’t be angry enough to threaten, but the relationship between Rumplestiltskin and Belle had her father almost incandescent with rage and this was not the first time the sheriff had to intervene. That the two of them were clearly in love didn’t seem to penetrate the man’s thick head, or his even thicker prejudice.

“As far as I know, nothing has changed in this town, and until the royal council is finished, I will continue to act in accordance with the laws of _this_ world,” Graham told him. “Now, I can’t speak to the eviction, I know nothing about the rental agreement between them. Gaston and LeFou have been released though. But, if the two of you decide to take swings at one another, I will have to arrest you.” Moe started to say something, but the sheriff cut him off. “Then, I will have to go and tell Belle and let _you_ explain it to her.”

As a threat, that had some effect. Moe closed his mouth. “Of course, Sheriff, I am certain Mr. French and I can come to some understanding, is that not so?” the pawnbroker asked. Moe nodded, then muttered something about getting the rent and went into the shop.

“Think you two can keep it civil?” Graham asked.

“I think violence can be avoided. I’m afraid that is about as good as it’s going to get.” Graham nodded. Maybe if they could avoid killing each other, Belle could get somewhere with them, certainly no one else was going to. “Sheriff, I trust things are…” the man asked carefully.

“I don’t know,” he replied honestly. “But I’m taking it a day at a time.”

“Probably best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, it's been a while. This time of year is particularly hard, I'm afraid. But I am trying to keep going. If you are reading, let me know, and do that little thing you do.


	17. Torchs and pitchforks,

Two days of peace and quiet in the town of Storybrooke, and Graham Humbert was almost thinking that things had started to find a new normal. The royal council was still in session, though there were signs that a resolution might be to hand. He knew that they had called upon Rumplestiltskin for something, probably his advice as the resident magical expert, and people were starting to take bets on what they were going to do and when they were going to do it, with not a few people ready to volunteer if it was a firing squad.

Unfortunately the side effect was it gave him a little too much time to think, something he had really been trying to avoid, but he could hardly wish for public disorder just so he could keep his mind off his troubles. Having Ruby around did help. She was friendly and perhaps a little too inclined to hug, but he tried to consider it as a form of desensitisation. She’d also been good about suggestions, books, shirts (he had never been much for clothes, but having dumped the things that Regina had shown a marked preference for had left his small wardrobe smaller), and now she was trying to get him to listen to more music. It was nice.

He’d also spent some time using his knowledge of this world to do some research on the internet, one of those strange but wonderful things this world had to make up for a lack of magic. What he had learned had been interesting, expanding on what his cursed memories had told him, but not terribly helpful. Theory was all well and good, but there were not exactly any equivalents. The closest he could find was cases of drugging, and most of those had the side effect of wiping the memory. He wondered privately which was worse, to remember or to not remember and wonder. But beyond that, there were no physical threats or psychological ones, not exactly, and this world and its psychology didn’t know from magic. In fact, Regina had not really done anything that he found repulsive, not if he had been a willing participant.

There were message boards and places for survivors to talk, but there was nothing he could say. For a decade he had thought he wanted her. Oh, he’d wondered about their ‘relationship’, never quite sure what exactly they had, and certainly there had been times when the veneer was thin, when she did things or asked him to do things he didn’t approve of, or want to do, though not in the bedroom. He always found himself doing what she asked, and then later wondering why. Still, he hadn’t questioned too much, and when she called, he had run to her.

There was a part of him that wanted to speak to her, to confront her, but what would he say, why me? If Graham didn’t know the right questions himself, how could he find the answers? Then, in the very darkest corner of his soul was a fear he could not even voice, the fear that, even now, even with his heart back and knowing the truth, that if she waved her hand, he would still go to her. What if he had not really broken her hold?  Worse, what if part of him, some small part, did want it, want her? He knew this was normal, the self blaming, the questioning, wondering if he had done something. But intellectual knowledge didn’t keep the nightmares away.

Then there was the other side. Would he ever be able to have a relationship again, a real relationship with any woman? At the moment, he knew he couldn’t. He wasn’t even sure he would ever want one. Who in Storybrooke would want the man who used to be the Evil Queen’s lover? Still, it would be nice to know. He had always been a loner, more at home with the forest and the wild things than people. When his wife died, he had more or less retreated from human society entirely, but he had never explicitly ruled it out either. None of those thoughts chasing round in his head was getting him anywhere though, so it was almost a relief when Princess Abigail burst into the station that evening.

“You need to come quick,’ she said urgently.

“What’s up?” Ruby asked as Graham came out of his office. “Where’s the fire?”

“Headed for Regina’s house,” the blond answered. “Doctor Whale’s managed to stir up a crowd from the Rabbit Hole, and I think they are none too sober. He’s got them convinced that the council is taking too long, or that they…I’m not sure what, I wasn’t paying attention ‘til the end. But they are angry and have been drinking and that…”

“That’s a bad combination in any case. All right,” Graham said, grabbing his jacket. “Ruby…”

“Fredrick’s gone to get Snow and Charming,” Abigail added. “I thought…”

“Good idea. Not sure, but better have them there.” He stopped as a very unpleasant idea crossed his mind. “Where is Princess Emma?” In the realms of ‘what could possibly make the situation worse,’ that was the top of the list. Despite his attitude, the sheriff was sure that Rumplestiltskin cared for Emma. More, and worse, if Belle was there picking up the girl…well, ugly was not the word.

“Not sure,” Ruby answered. “You want…”

“Go to Rumplestiltskin’s shop, then the house. If the princess or Belle is at Regina’s…”

“I'm on it,” she said running off with Graham and Abigail right behind her. The last thing that was needed to add to 'angry mob', it 'was angry sorcerer' who thought his lady and or his charge were in danger from said mob. He shuddered.

 

When Ruby crossed the street, she could see Gold locking up the pawnshop. Unfortunately she did not see either Belle or the princess. She picked up speed. “Mr Gold,” she called. He turned.

“Miss Lucas, to what…”

“Where is Belle?” she asked.

“Belle, what?” he started.

“Where is she, it’s important.”

“She’s gone to meet Emma at Regina’s. I was held up with a repair so she went on. Now, what is happening?” he asked sharply.

“Doctor Whale, he’s stirred up a mob and they are…”

“Come,” he ordered, cutting her off. “The sheriff…”

“He’s already on his way, but…” She followed as he rushed to the big Cadillac.

“This will not be my first torch and pitchfork party, though, of course, I’m usually the beast they are after vanquishing,” he told her as he steered the car at what was definitely more speed that she thought it was capable of. “As far as I’m concerned, they can have Regina, but they will leave Belle and the princess out of it.” Ruby knew a warning when she heard it, and she heard it, loud and clear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, sorry,sorry. My muse has been in hiding, and between recovering from DragonCon, and becoming an aunt, things have been hectic. I hope you are still reading, please do that important thing, and let me know what you think.


	18. Mob Scene

The black Cadillac arrived almost simultaneously with the sheriff’s cruiser and only seconds after Ruby raised Cora on her cell phone (while Rumplestiltskin swore to himself that he would see Belle had one of the infernal devices as soon as reasonably possible). “They were leaving when those idiots showed up,” Ruby relayed as he parked the car. “They went inside with Regina....” As she was talking, they climbed out of the car, assessing the situation. The mob had immobilised the two guards and Whale was busy pounding on the closed front door.

“Tell them to get somewhere safe. I doubt this lot means them harm, but I’ll not trust them not to do something entirely on accident.”

“The cavalry’s here,” Ruby said into the phone. “Get somewhere safe in case they break the door.”

 

Cora was nodding as Belle and Regina waited for more information. “Ruby says get someplace safe,” she told them. She had been leaving, walking out to meet Belle who was talking to one of the guards when the mob had shown up.

“Best you two go inside,” Gawain had said.

“Surely they don’t...” Belle started.

“Better safe,” he told her and his partner nodded. Belle, looking at the ragged group, decided he was right. If nothing else, she needed to keep Emma safe, even if it meant stepping into the evil former queen’s abode.

Regina smiled when she opened the door, for the moment before she saw what was behind them. “In, quickly,” she said, stepping aside. She didn’t even pause as Belle passed her. That she needed to protect her daughter went without saying, they would both see to her safety. Regina knew that for all the difficulties between her and her old mentor, he would see to that, otherwise she never would have agreed to the current situation. However, the possibility that something, even accidentally, could happen to Belle, didn’t bear thinking about. Even without his magic, she was certain he would make everyone pay, and Regina wasn’t entirely sure there was such a thing as a safe distance from the Dark One in that case.

 

“All right, everyone,” Graham shouted over the noise. “Come on, this is not how...” No one listened, not that they could necessarily hear, all focused on getting into the house. Someone picked up a rock and looked like they were preparing to have a go at the window.

“Well, Whale, disturbing the peace I see,” Rumplestiltskin said, pitching his voice to be heard over everyone. “Really, dearie?”

“Yeah, back it up, you idiots,” Ruby added for good measure, standing next to Graham and giving serious consideration to whether or not she could actually shift into her four legged form. She had not really tried since the curse broke.

“Hey, who you calling an idiot?” You got no more love for her than anyone else,” Keith Nottingham said to Ruby. “Not like your boss there.” He was slurring, clearly well into his usual state of inebriation.

“As I recall, **you** sided with her evilness, until her defeat,” Rumplestiltskin said, pulling the attention back to himself and giving Graham a moment. “Trying to get people to forget?”

“Why should you care what we do with her?” Whale asked. “You should be on our side, after what she took from you.” Belle’s story was no secret in the small town, nothing was. There were plenty who wondered when, not if, he was going to take his revenge, and the dwarves had a betting pool on what form it would take. “Or are you siding with her.”

“We can...” one of the other men started.

“A smart man would _not_ finish that sentence,” the sorcerer said, all trace of humour erased. “Now, in general, I don’t care what you do with Regina. Myself, I will settle my own affairs with her, I’ve never been a joiner in the whole mob scene, I’m not keen on that kind of justice. It never seems to confine itself to the initial target, and it’s hard on the furnishings.”

“I don’t want to have to shoot anyone, but you are disturbing the peace, trespassing...” Graham said, pulling his weapon with a determined look.

“We don’t need your permission. Come on everyone, the sheriff won’t shoot us, and Rumplestiltskin, he has no magic,” Whale said, trying back to the issue of how to get inside. “If someone breaks that...”

“Are you sure about that, dearie?” Around him, some people started to have second and third thoughts about their plan or lack of one. It allowed Gawain and Rowan, the other knight who had been on duty, to shake free of their captors and come to the sheriff’s side. “I should tell you at this point that both the princess and Belle are inside with Regina.” That news brought a pause, and some murmuring among those in the crowd.

“I didn’t sign up for no high treason,” one of them said loud enough to be heard. “Much less...”

“We’d not hurt either of them,” another added quickly. Several people were looking ill, while others were considering the states of their insurance, their wills, or at least their rental agreements. It was into this suddenly more subdued crowd that David and Snow arrived, along with Frederick, his father in law Midas, Grumpy, and Dove, the quiet man who worked for Gold. Behind them, Belle’s father was pulling up into the crowded street in his florist’s van.

“Friends, come on. This is _not_ how we handle things. You are better than this,” Snow began, gathering their attention.

“Best do that text thing,” Rumplestiltskin said quietly to Ruby as everyone’s attention was on Snow. “Get Emma and Belle out the back, just in case.” Ruby backed up a little and pulled out her phone.

“Do you think...” Graham began, keeping an eye on Whale as well as several other known troublemakers. The odds were better, but he’d rather avoid a pitched battle. Fortunately, Gaston and LeFou, probably still afraid of stepping out of line, were not there.

“Where is Belle?” Maurice asked as he approached the sorcerer. The concerned look on his face suggested that he knew the answer and was praying he was wrong. Rumplestiltskin looked towards the house and the florist went a little pale. “What are you doing...” he demanded.

“Bad news,” Ruby said. “Cora won’t leave her mother and Belle won’t leave Cora. So unless you want to...”

“Make her,” Maurice said sharply.

“Tell me, when has ordering Belle actually gotten you anywhere?” the imp asked. “Because I assure you, she’s not changed. With luck, it won’t matter.” He turned his attention back to where Snow and Charming were doing what royals were supposed to do in his not terribly humble opinion.

“If everyone will be calm, we will have an open meeting to explain the conclusions of the council...”

“Why should we wait any longer?” Whale demanded.

“Well, the sheriff could just arrest the lot of you for disturbing of the peace,” Rumplestiltskin suggested. “Might be a bit crowded in the jail. Personally, I’m considering spending the evening reviewing my leases.” That caused a certain amount of alarm.

“We are just asking you to wait until tomorrow night,” David said. The charming prince kept opening and closing his hand, as if wishing for his sword.

 _Suppose I might have to consider seeing it gets back to him at some point_ , Rumplestitlskin thought.

“Tomorrow night?” Whale asked. “No tricks.”

“Our word,” Midas said gravely.

“Tomorrow night,” Snow confirmed. “At City Hall, 8 o’clock.” Suddenly talk broke out in the crowd, but the momentum was broken. Slowly, they began to back away and head towards town, home, or possibly back to the Rabbit Hole. Whale looked like he was going to object, but one look at the sorcerer convinced him that he had best reconsider.

“Now,” Rumplestitlskin began.

“I’m calling,” Ruby confirmed. “I can stick around here with Gawain and Rowan, if you want, Graham, just to kind of make sure things are okay.”

“Actually, Graham, we need you, and you too, Rumplestiltskin,” Snow said. Midas nodded in agreement.

“I’ll stay around here for a bit,” Fredrick offered, while Dove and Grumpy looked at them, and, at a nod, started heading back to town, the excitement having been averted. As he spoke, the front door of the mansion opened slowly, and Belle emerged with Emma. Regina remained standing in the open doorway. Rumplestiltskin reached out for Belle and she went straight into his arms.

“That was pretty cool,” Emma said.

“We are just glad you are safe,” Snow said as she hugged her daughter before David added himself to hug them both.

“I’m good. I knew it would be okay, only my mom, my other mom, she’s pretty freaked out. Do you guys mind if I, you know, stayed here tonight?” The two of them looked at one another, and then at Rumplestiltskin and Belle. After all, they were acting as her guardians, though Cora thought she was kind of getting used to it.

“It should be fine,” Belle said.

“I doubt that lot will be back,” Rumplestiltskin added.

“I can call Grace and she can meet me to walk to school in the morning. You know how her Dad is, so you won’t have to get me.”

Rumplestitlskin muttered something about royals and domestics under his breath, but at Belle’s look, he subsided. With a quick hug of her parents, not to mention Belle, and (to Snow and David’s surprise, not to mention his own), Rumplestiltskin, she ran back into the house. Regina looked at them and mouthed a silent (and probably painful) ‘thank you’ before closing the door behind them.

“Now we need to discuss the meeting,” Snow began. “Rumplestiltskin...”

“I need to be getting Belle home,” he cut her off.

“It won’t be long, perhaps...”

“I can take Belle,” Maurice volunteered for the first time.

“Well, since Fredrick’s staying, and Graham, you are with them, maybe I should go back to the office?  Phone won’t answer itself” Ruby suggested. “Can I ride back with you?” It wasn’t like everyone wasn’t aware of the tension between Belle, her father, and the sorcerer.

“Belle?” Rumplestiltskin asked.

“Why don’t you take both of us back to town, Papa? Rumple, you can join me for dinner at Granny’s? It will give me a little time to talk to my father.” For a moment Maurice looked like he was going to disagree , but he reconsidered.

“Very well, maybe I’ll even stay with you for a cuppa,” he said. “Ladies, your carriage awaits,” the former ruler of Avonlea waved them towards the truck. Ruby nodded and Belle smiled happily.

Still, as he watched them drive off, Graham was just as glad that Ruby was going with. Maurice was being remarkably reasonable all of a sudden. He could only hope they had turned a corner on _that_ problem. Then he returned his attention to Snow and David, deliberately turning his back on Regina’s house. Perhaps it would all be over soon.  He made a note to text Ruby about picking up dinner for them on his way back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I hope you are all bearing with me. Things have been a little crazy, but I hope this will make up for it somewhat. Enjoy and do that thing you do. Does anyone think that Maurice has learned his lesson?


	19. Making Peace?

Ruby left them outside Granny’s as Maurice was seeing Belle in. They went to the table in the back that she preferred when she was with Rumplestiltskin and sat down. “So Papa, have you finally decided to accept my decision?” she asked directly after they had gotten their tea. If they were going to have this disagreement again, she thought it best in public and away from Rumple.

“I...I’m trying my girl. But it’s...of all the people you could have fallen in love with. You are _sure_ it’s love, aren’t you?”

“Papa,” she said, exasperated. “Yes, it’s love. True Love.”

“Have you tried...”

“Papa...” This time it was a warning. He held his hands up in surrender.

“All right, it’s just hard to see my little girl living with that _beast.”_

“He’s not a beast, and I was living with him in the old world,” Belle pointed out.

“I didn’t like it then either. I worried about what...” Her father shuddered.

“Papa! It was nothing...There was...Rumple isn’t _like_ that. Not that it would be any of your business anyway. He is an honourable man,” she defended her love, a blush rising in her cheeks. “Besides, this isn’t the old world. Here, women have a lot more choices.”

“And what choices have you made?” Maurice asked.

“Well, I’m staying with Rumple for one. We haven’t really had a chance to discuss beyond that, what with the princess and Regina. I suppose there is a lot of that going around. Rumple wants to be careful of what kind of example he sets for her,” Belle said honestly.

“Example?” Maurice asked. His thoughts showing on his face. “So you aren’t...”

“ _Papa_ , that’s none of your business!” she said angrily, flushing red.

“I’m sorry,” he said, trying to soothe her. “I just worry. I’m old fashioned, the idea of you living with him, especially without benefit of being married....”

“So you would be all right if we were married?” Belle asked. She honestly could not believe her father. She was trying, but he wasn’t making things easier.

“Yes...No...I don’t know. My girl, it’s just going to take time.”

“I’m sure we can work everything out in time. I do love you Papa, but I love him too. I just want you to respect my choice and try to get along with him,” she told him.

“Try...” he started but then stopped. “I’ll try...” he finished reluctantly. “Now...”. The diner went suddenly quiet, and Belle turned to the door with a smile as Rumplestiltskin entered. Several patrons started looking from the two at the back to the slim figure in his elegant suit. But Gold merely made his way to the booth, a soft smile on his face.

“I should be going,” Maurice said as the sorcerer joined them. “Belle...”

“Papa, we will talk more soon,” she promised.

“You don’t have to go,” Gold said carefully as if the words were painful for him, which they probably were. Of course, he still didn’t trust Maurice, but neither was he going to be the one to arouse Belle’s ire by starting something with the man.

“No, I’ve really got to go. Got to get the truck cleaned out. It’s not good to leave the flowers in the back. I just...when I heard about the mob and saw the Cadillac streak past, I thought I had best check. But I’ve still got work to do.” Belle rose and gave her father a hug.

“We will have dinner soon,” she said. He nodded to Gold and left, causing not a few people to breath more easily. “See, I told you he would come around,” Belle said happily, reseating herself while Rumple took the recently vacated opposite bench.

“We will see. Now, what do you want to eat?”

 

Maurice stormed into the Rabbit Hole and took a stool at the end of the bar, nodding to the group of dwarves two stools over and ordering a beer.

The whole time he had been cleaning out the truck, he had been trying to figure out what to do. He didn't want to alienate his daughter but he just couldn’t bear her with the imp. At least, as near as he could tell, the relationship hadn’t gone too far, though he thought that was down to the princess, and regardless of what she said, he would bet it was her idea to protect the girl. Still, with a decision on Regina imminent, he couldn’t guarantee how much longer that would remain true. Surely the beast was only biding his time and waiting for privacy before he pounced, and who knew what persuasions the deal maker was bringing to bear on her.

With no answers forthcoming, he looked into his beer and allowed the conversation around him to filter in.

“We will have to see. But I bet there is some fairy dust to be had,” Happy was saying to his brothers.

“Yes, but *achoo* we don’t know how *achoo* stable the tunnels are. *achoo* need to stabilise the main parts. At least we *achoo* have got the town line marked off. Wouldn’t want...” Sneezy paused for an extended period of living up to his name. “...Do to have someone accidentally cross over.”

“Yeah, brother,” Grumpy said. “Wouldn’t want to live out my life as a rotten janitor,” he said. The now only sometimes surly dwarf had been reunited with his True Love, a fairy. A dwarf in love was unusual, a dwarf whose True Love was a fairy was downright weird, which was saying something for Storybrooke. The Blue Fairy had been furious. She had tried to forbid it, but Nova had moved out of the convent and into Granny’s bed and breakfast.

Maurice French turned. “What were you saying about the mines?” he asked.

“That they are unstable? Thought everyone knew that. Where have you been?” Dopey asked.

“Too busy butting his nose into Belle’s business,” Grumpy commented, only slightly under his breath.

“Probably,” Maurice admitted. It wouldn’t do to deny it, and the dwarf was his daughter’s friend. “Guess I’ve been pretty busy acting like an overprotective father. Seriously though, I’m trying. I want to get more involved in the town...for Belle,” he added. The dwarf didn’t really look at him, but he nodded.

“The mine’s unstable, sure, and of course, there are some caved in sections,” Happy said. “But when we were surveying, we found that part of the main tunnel doesn’t end until the other side of the town line.”

“I didn’t even know that was possible,” Maurice said. “That’s pretty....”

“We have it marked now,” Dopey said.

“Yes, wouldn’t want to go over by accident,” Happy added.

“Wouldn’t want *achoo* anyone to go over *achoo* at all. Especially the kids. *achoo*,” Sneezy finished.

“That would be bad,” Maurice agreed. “But you do have it marked off, right? No worries then.  Besides, no one but dwarves usually go into the mines, they would be afraid of getting lost. Besides, you lock it up though, right? To keep the kids out? So I think the town in general is probably safe. Do you really think there is fairy dust here, in this world though?” he asked, changing the subject. In his mind, the wheels were turning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, another piece of the puzzle. Hope you are all enjoying, please do the thing....


	20. Concern

“I am going and that’s final!” Belle said sharply.

“I don’t think so.” he started harshly. “I will not have...”

“Unless you are going to lock me in, I am going and that is all there is to it. I love you, Rumplestiltskin, but if you think I am just going to stand by and let you make my decisions for me, then you can think again. I’ve not been fighting with my father over him trying to control my life, only to have you try to do the same thing. I will be an equal partner or...”

The argument, their first, had been going on since they got home from Granny’s and Rumplestiltskin realised instantly that he had screwed up. Nothing terrified him the way her threat did. Losing Belle again, that was a nightmare to him. He decided he needed a new tactic and quickly. Pity. He had been looking forward to taking advantage of the princess’ absence for some much more pleasurable pursuits. Now, he needed to get both the conversation, and the evening, back on track, but Belle was not some other woman to be distracted. One of the reasons he loved her was her strong mind and will to match his, but it sometimes conflicted with his naturally overprotective streak.

“I’ve no desire to control you, sweetheart,” the sorcerer said gently. “I am concerned, however. While the king and queen are certain there will not be trouble, I’m not so sanguine. Those two always see the best in everyone. Besides, without my powers I cannot protect you.”

“You don’t need to protect me, Rumple, and if you did you’ve never needed your powers, before. You have intimidation on your side,” Belle replied, reaching up to cup his cheek. “I don’t want to fight with you, not now, not ever. I will agree to stay close to you. If anything looks like it is going to...”

“If it looks like it will turn ugly, you promise to leave immediately?” he suggested.

“Of course. I don’t want to put myself deliberately at risk, nor do I want to distract you.”

“You always distract me, love,” he said, taking advantage of her calmer state to pull her close to him.

“You know what I mean, Rumple. I will agree to allow reasonable precautions.. Of course we also have to do something with Emma. Left to her own devices, she will want to be there.”

“And if this were the old world, Snow would have her there, to learn a lesson about administering royal justice, but I don’t think any of them is ready for _that_. I think Jefferson. He will probably be the only person in town with no desire to be there, well besides our dear sheriff. But Emma can go spend time with Grace.”

“That will work. What about the sheriff? I mean, I know that this has all been hard on him,” she asked. Rumple had explained as delicately as he could, the situation, only because Belle was his beloved and he trusted her to do nothing but give the young man her compassion.

“As well as can be expected, I think. He seems to be hanging together. I’m rather surprised he’s not come to ask for a memory potion or some such, but he was not inclined to trust magic before Regina. But that’s not what we were discussing. You were about to promise me that you would go if I decide it is too dangerous?” he asked, steering the conversation away from one delicate subject to another.  After all, it was as good as he was going to get, but it still left the definition of ‘dangerous’ in his hands.

“If there is _real_ danger,” she countered.

The sorcerer sighed. His lady _did_ know him far too well. “Very well. I am mostly concerned with Whale. The man is a hothead and the original mad scientist, I would not place a lot of trust in his sanity. He’s not the only one either, despite his current accommodating manner, I don’t trust George. There has always been something wrong with that family. Then there are a few others who just lack a leader to try to turn things into another mob situation. But if I have your word...” She nodded with a smile and allowed him to pull her even closer. “I believe then, that the deal is struck. Shall we seal it with a kiss?” he suggested.

“It’s a good start,” Belle agreed.

 

Graham returned to the office a little distracted. He wasn’t sure exactly how he felt about the situation. That was the problem with suddenly feeling again, after so long, everything was intense and a bit uncomfortable. He’d stopped at Granny’s and picked up some food for him and Ruby and returned to the office having dodged all the questions that had been thrown at him. Snow and David had not told him or Rumplestiltskin what the outcome of the council was, anyway. They had been entirely focused on the practical, Security (him) and an expert magical opinion (Rumplestiltskin), not to mention that the sorcerer had more than enough to keep some people in their places if they wanted homes to return to.

“They need to know what is possible in this world, to reassure them that she’s not going to, I don’t know, cook up a curse in her kitchen and turn everyone into frogs or something,” David had said.

“Well, she’ll most certainly not be doing that anytime soon,” the sorcerer had responded with a disgusted look on his face.

“Good,” the prince had said, turning to Graham, who was pretty sure that there was more that Rumplestiltskin would say, if asked. But the king wasn’t one to ask. The sheriff considered whether he should stop by the shop to find out before the meeting. “Graham, we aren’t really expecting trouble, but after today, we want to be careful.”

 _Careful_ , Graham thought. _That is one word for it_. But then they did not know what she was capable of the way he did, not really.

“Sorry,” he said to Ruby, realising he’d zoned out on her. “I guess I’m not good company tonight.”

“No big, I get it. This has got to be really uncomfortable for you, right?  I mean, I know you guys were trying to keep it quiet, but you were dating Regina for like what, ten years? Finding out that it didn’t mean anything, that sucks. I know a lot about bad relationships,” she assured him, unaware of what she was saying. At least she meant well, Graham thought, and if she thought it was nothing but a break up after finding out about the curse, well, it was a hell of a lot better than the alternative, the truth.

“You have no idea,’ he told her honestly. “Thanks. Suppose I’d best go do a patrol and then you can go.” He rose. His dinner was only half finished, but he had lost his appetite.

“Sure, and listen, Graham, if you ever want to talk...I mean, you’ve listened to me bitch about Granny and everything enough, I can return the favour.”

He started to say something when, unbidden, the voice crept in. _Come now, a little favour. You know I’ll make it worth your while. You know I can. Do this for me and..._ Regina’s voice, a memory, her at her most seductive to try to get him to do something that he wasn’t sure he wanted to do, something he would always end up doing anyway, and then wonder why. His body broke out in a cold sweat and he turned away quickly, with a muffled ‘thank you,’ to Ruby, and he left the office as quickly as he could.

Behind the station, he managed to hold on ‘til he reached the garbage before losing what little he’d managed to get down. “It’s all over, it’s nothing,” he repeated to himself over again, as he tried to control his shaking hands.

After a few minutes, he pulled himself together. Patrolling, that would take his mind off things, at least he hoped it would, as long as he patrolled far away from Regina’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think I’m back on track. If you are still reading, thank you. Please leave the comments in the little box.


	21. How do you solve a problem...

The entire town of Storybrooke was buzzing through the day leading up to the council, and very little actually got done anywhere in town. Rumplestitlskin, Belle, and Emma met Snow and Charming at Regina’s before the meeting was to begin. The sorcerer thought that Cora might want to see her adopted mother beforehand.

“Why did you bring Emma?” Snow asked. “I don’t...” The door opened and Regina looked at them. She was definitely dressed to impress, or, more likely, intimidate, but like Rumplestiltskin, her closet didn’t exactly run to casual.

“You look good, Mom,” the princess said, going to give her a hug.

“Thank you, Cora, but what...Surely you are not letting her come to this?” she asked, looking at the sorcerer.

“Not at all,” he said.

“Hey, I...” Emma started.

“I thought you might want to wish your adopted mother luck. Jefferson will meet us at Town Hall. You are going to stay with Grace.”

“But I want to be...”

“No,” both Regina and Snow said together.

“Mom...Moms,” she amended, looking back and forth between them.

“It’s for the best, Emma. This could get...unpleasant,” Snow told her. Regina glared at her. She was still somewhat sensitive about her daughter’s name, and that she had not immediately kept the one Regina had given her. On the one hand, she agreed with her stepdaughter for once. Even though she was certain that Snow and her prince were not planning on executing her, she didn’t want her daughter, their daughter, exposed to some of the things that would no doubt be said, things she had done.

“Agreed,” Regina said. The girl gave them all mutinous looks, though she knew with all of them siding against her, there was no way she would win. It didn’t make her very happy though.

“Perhaps you would like to come back and stay...er...with Regina, after...”. Snow suggested somewhat uncomfortably. It was a concession, one that everyone knew was difficult to make. Still, it was something. It was also a hint that whatever the council had decided, Regina would be coming home tonight.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” the girl said.

“Then I suggest we get on with it, I don’t want to waste more time on this than necessary,” Gold snapped. Not that anyone paid attention. It was agreed that Regina would ride in the Cadillac with Gold, David, and the princess. Snow would drive Belle in David’s truck. While in general Rumple was extremely over protective of Belle and everyone was being extremely polite, but one car was expecting too much.

 

Town Hall was already packed when they pulled around to the back. David and Gold escorted Regina through the door where Graham was standing guard.

“Remember, apologise,” her daughter whispered as she hugged her.

“Everything will be fine,” Snow said reassuringly.

“Yeah, I get it, grown up stuff,” Emma said sourly, pulling a face.

“Cora Henrietta...”

“Emma Jane...” the two women said at the same time before looking at each other.

“Fine,” she said, and turned to go.

“Come on, Jefferson is waiting for you,” Belle said putting an arm around her to escort her. The little girl looked back at her two mothers and Regina smiled, or tried to. She was almost certain that, while she wasn’t going to like what her stepdaughter and the revolting prince had in mind, her death wasn’t it. Actually, she wasn’t sure, but in sharing her daughter these last few weeks, she had remembered something, that Cora was about the same age that Snow had been when her mother had, well, when Regina had been sold off to Leopold. Not that he had been a bad man, or that she could blame him too much, but then her mother...well, Regina knew that whatever it was that she wanted to be, she wanted to stop turning into her mother.

“You know you will have fun with Grace,” Belle said. “More fun than this.”

“Fun, sure, but I want to know what’s happening. I hate being left out, especially when it’s kind of my life too. You don’t understand.”

“Not completely, but I do know what it feels like to think everyone is deciding your life for you. Remember, my father decided who I was going to marry,” Belle told her as they came around the building.

“Yeah, and ewww, I mean, not that I like boys or anything, but really?” Emma asked.

“Now you know how I felt,” Belle told her. “There they are.” She pointed to where Jefferson and Grace were standing waiting away from the people streaming into the building.

“Come on Cora, my father got us pizza and dvds,” Grace called.

“We will have her back as soon as...” Jefferson said quietly. He was still a bit jumpy and clearly anxious to have the girls away. Belle put a reassuring hand on his arm and sent him off. It would take time, she knew that, time for him to recover, to feel safe again. Belle was just contemplating inviting him and Grace to dinner when she heard her name called.

“Belle, my girl.”

“Papa,” she said, turning to give him a hug. “I see you are joining the rest of town.”

“I was, but I am surprised to see you here. You should be back at home. Surely he didn’t allow...”

“No one ‘allows me’ to do anything, papa,” Belle said sharply. “This is a new world, and as I’ve told you before, I have the right to make my own decisions.”

“That is the truth,” Rumplestilstkin said as he came out to find her. “She will make her own choices.  Do you truly think I _want_ her here for this?  But I respect her decision.”

Moe cursed inwardly. It seemed a simple enough plan, check to see if she was there with the young princess, convince her to allow him to take her back home. After all, everyone knew the sorcerer was needed for this, and even though he rarely let Belle out of his sight, it was not the sort of situation he would necessarily want her in. But here she was, and refusing to miss the blasted meeting herself. Not that Moe was not curious about the fate of the Evil Queen, everyone was. But he was more concerned with his daughter. Still, perhaps...

“If things start to get ugly, Belle...” the sorcerer began.

“I’ll make sure she gets away safely,” Moe interjected, sensing his opening, though perhaps a bit too quickly. “I’m sure that you will be busy with Regina. The sheriff is good, but still...” he added. Rumplestiltskin looked at him suspiciously. “I want my daughter safe above all, we both do.”

Slowly, the sorcerer nodded. He wasn’t completely convinced, but he really had no choice. At that point he was called inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, if you are still reading this, I thank you. My Grandmother’s death and the subsequent details involved in clearing things up, not to mention an injury which has made sitting very difficult, has put me way off track, but I really hope that I am back, gods willing and the creek don’t rise as they say in the south. You know what to do, and it does encourage the muse...

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading. This is not going to be as light as the other two. I'm not sure where it's going, but I hope you enjoy and stay with me. Please leave a comment in the little box.


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